


Seasons of War

by Lyoko_Native



Category: Code Lyoko, Code Lyoko Evolution
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Coming of Age, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-01-10 18:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 53
Words: 196,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyoko_Native/pseuds/Lyoko_Native
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A wise man, a fair princess, a colonist, a mercenary, a vanguard, a scout and an outcast join together to fight the forces of darkness and evil. But one hundred years of slumber have given it more power than ever thought possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Book 1: Summer

Book 1: Summer  
Episode 1: It Begins

The city was in chaos.

Buildings had fallen onto people, crushing their bones, ending their lives. Women, children, animals; the dark elves were indiscriminate with their death-dealing. The men who tried to fight died horribly, and those who ran were caught under flaming pillars and broken statues. The earth itself trembled in fear, for the Matron would have no mercy on Lyoko. No, not even the world could stand in her way.

He felt the weight of her foot on his chest, choking him. He saw six corpses next to him, but he had no strength left to identify them. He felt life fleeing his body as he looked his murderer dead in the eyes. They were yellow, cold but blazing, cruel and unfeeling. How could anyone have such horrible eyes?

Jeremie awoke in a cold sweat, and he reached for his spectacles. He was not a big believer in ‘signs’ but it seemed the gods were trying to tell him something. He lit a candle and entered his mother’s study, locating the Book of Dreams. He could only find abstract explanations, all dealing with his inner self. And nothing explaining the detailed, individual corpses made any sense. They called it ‘a killer of happiness.’ But everything in the dream had killed happiness. Why were these six strangers significant?

Jeremie closed the book and sighed. A dark elf had destroyed the city of Lyoko. What had that meant? He sighed, and he returned to bed. The dream came again, but more vivid. He saw the skyline of the city, could hear the people next to him shouting, and though he could find six distinct voices, he could not hear words. He watched as a fiery cannonball struck the castle, and he trembled as the earthquake started. He, too, started shouting, but he didn’t know what he shouted.

He rolled out of bed, hitting the floor hard. He shook his head and pulled himself up as his father, Michael, ran into his bedchamber. “Jeremie, are you alright?” He asked, helping his son up off the floor, and handing him his spectacles. “By the gods, son, you gave me a fright and a half.”

“I’m fine, Dad.” Jeremie said, pulling himself up off the floor. Was it morning already? Yes, that was the sun’s warmth coming in the dirty window. “I just… had a nightmare.” He said.

“A nightmare, you say?” Michael said, directing his son to his study. “We should analyze it.”

Jeremie rolled his eyes. “I already tried earlier. It was deer shit.” He explained, but his father stood firm. Jeremie sighed, and he pulled a chair over to his father’s desk as he pulled out his own copy of the Book of Dreams. “It starts out with the Lyoko skyline. Then we’re attacked by a Matron. A dark elf, as it was. She… set the city on fire; burned the whole town. Buildings were falling, and people were dying. I saw six people. No one I’d ever seen before. They were dead, beside me. She almost killed me, too, before I woke up.” He sighed. “The Book of Dreams says that it is subconscious. But I don’t know. It feels personal. It felt real.” He looked at his father, who had stopped searching through the pages of the Book of Dreams.

Michael turned his chair and faced his son. “Did you hear anything? See anything else? Did these people—corpses—did they say anything to you?” He asked.

Jeremie was confused. “No. They didn’t. They were dead. They were screaming, but… I couldn’t understand them. I couldn’t understand myself.” He sighed. “Why are you so interested? It was just a dream.”

“Dreams have power, my son. More power than anyone wants to admit. If you would listen to your dreams, Jeremie, you would know this.” Michael sighed. “There is porridge on the table. Go to the monastery after breakfast and find an enchiridion on the Warrior’s final prophecy.” He asked, and Jeremie stood. He dressed in his white shirt and his dark blue pants, lacing his boots tightly. He threw his mother’s book back over his shoulder.

Jeremie and his father lived in an apartment in the bustling city of Lyoko, called Capital Lyoko for obvious reasons. The building was owned by the Ishiyama family. The Ishiyamas were wealthy merchants, with history in the faraway land of Nippon. They were strange, but only because their culture was so dramatically different.

The apartment was in a richer part of town, where scholars and other people lived, along with many wealthy dwarven traders. It was near the merchants’ stalls. Wealthy merchants lived near the docks, nobles lived near the castle, artisans and shopkeepers lived west of the scholars. The common rabble and most of the elves lived in squalor near the city gates. Elves really had the worst of it, residing in slums. Lucky ones lived with humans as servants.

The monastery was near the Grimoire Academy. This was perhaps to entice many of the wealthy magicians to join on as priests. Jeremie walked on the cobblestone streets, waving at people he knew, most of them merchants too busy to notice him. Few people weren’t too busy to notice him. He entered the monastery, lighting a candle in honor of his mother at the base of the statue to Pluto. Then, he greeted the monks, and found Brother Solaris, master of the archives. “Greetings, Brother Solaris.” He said, smiling at the monk.

Brother Solaris looked up, and he smiled at the teenager. “Jeremie Belpois! My, it has been ages since I saw you here.” He grabbed Jeremie’s shoulders in a friendly way. “How may I help you today, my son?” He asked.

“My dad asked me to find an enchiridion on the final prophecy of the Warrior.” Jeremie explained. “He told me to look here. You wouldn’t happen to have one, would you?” He asked.

Brother Solaris seemed confused. “An enchiridion on the final prophecy of the Warrior? Gods above, child, why on earth would he need a book like that?” The monk asked. “It is well known that the Warrior prophesized many things, but his final prophecy was… strange. No one pays it much heed.”

“I’m just the messenger, Brother,” Jeremie sighed.

He thought for a moment, and then waved Jeremie along. “Follow me. I think I have just what you need.” The monk and the teenager moved quickly through the monastery, and into a tiny room that was not well lit. Brother Solaris pulled an ancient-looking tome off a high shelf. “This is a collection of all the prophecies of the Warrior. Read them, and you will know why we do no pay his final prophecy much attention. It is utter nonsense, child.”

Jeremie thanked the monk and left the monastery. He opened the enchiridion and studied the prophecies. He remembered learning about some of them—he predicted the Lyoko victory in the Great Colony war. He predicted a sudden flood of elven refugees before that, coming from the Surface War between the elves. That was almost two hundred years ago, though. Jeremie turned to his final prophecy. It mentioned a vile darkness, and no rain, only cold snow and ice until the sun cast the darkness away. He mentioned seven people, but not by name like in other prophecies. He called these people Heroes, far greater than the Warrior Himself had been. He called them the Wise Man, the Fair, the Colonist, the Mercenary, the Vanguard, the Scout and the Outcast. Who were those people? Why were they important?

Brother Solaris had been correct after all. The Warrior’s final prophecy did not make much sense. Especially not when compared to his distinct prophecies earlier, and when one took into account his mental instability near his death.

Jeremie was so absorbed in his book that he didn’t see a girl standing right in front of him, and they walked right into each other. He looked up over the edge of the tome and saw green eyes staring back at him. He took a step back and looked face-to-face with a wild elf. Her hair was pink, like roses, and her face and arms were decorated with light pink markings. She wore a loose magenta vest and matching miniskirt, with bandages wrapped up her legs. “Ir abelas,” She apologized in her native tongue, and she walked around him. He watched her leave, and something inside of him told him to go after her.

But he didn’t. He let her go.

Jeremie returned to the apartment, and he gave his father the enchiridion. “Thank you,” He said, and he opened to the pages about the final prophecy. “Yes, it as I suspected.” Michael said, studying the pages. “You have been chosen, my son. Be proud.” Michael smiled, and he presented the book back to him. Jeremie was obviously confused.

“Dad, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jeremie said.

“How can you not know? You read the prophecy, didn’t you?” Michael asked. Jeremie nodded, and Michael explained, “Your dream matches the prophecy in the enchiridion. You have been chosen to be one of the Heroes!”

Jeremie laughed. “You’re crazy.” He said. Michael rolled his eyes.

 

As daytime started to fade, Ulrich Stern met up with Odd Della-Robbia in the gymnasium for combat practice. As he entered, Odd nearly pinned him to a target with an arrow. “Odd! Watch it!” Ulrich shouted. The half-elf shrugged, laughing. Ulrich rolled his eyes. They’d known each other since they were three, and were the best of best friends. This meant they knew how to push each other’s buttons.

“What’s the word, hummingbird?” Odd asked as Ulrich threw his bag down on the floor. He let loose another arrow, and it landed perfectly in the bull’s eye. He straightened his purple vest, and dusted his purple pants. He wore tall purple boots, and tall metal gauntlets with sharp claws. Ulrich had opted not to wear his typical Eastern finery, and instead wore simple white robes. He had a black belt wrapped around his waist. He began practicing his martial arts, dubbed Pencak Silat, on a dummy made of straw.

Ulrich rolled his eyes. “My parents are still trying to get me to decide on a suitor,” He complained, “The worst part is that they’re pushing me towards Sissi Delmas!” He shouted.

Odd shook his head. “By Venus’s sanctified tits, can’t your parents see you’re hopelessly in love with Yumi Ishiyama?” He teased.

Ulrich kicked the dummy so hard it was sent flying into the wall and then spun around to face his friend of thirteen years. “I am not in love with Yumi!” He shouted, and Odd raised his hands. “And even if I was, our families are economic rivals!” He admitted off-handedly.

Odd cupped his hands and fluttered his eyes. “Just like Romulus and Julia!” He cooed.

Ulrich rolled his eyes again before trying to fix the dummy. “Those idiots knew each other for a week,” He mocked.

Odd snickered. “Time never stopped anyone before,” He muttered. He prepared an arrow, and let it loose. It struck the exact same place, slicing the first arrow down the middle. Odd saw this and cheered. “Suck my dick, Sparrow Cloak!” He shouted.

“Odd, put it away,” A feminine voice called. The boys turned to see Yumi Ishiyama standing in the doorway. She wore her white robes too, and her black belt. She smiled as she approached them. Odd rolled his eyes. “Ulrich, are you ready to take me on?” She asked, cocksure.

Ulrich smirked. “I’m always ready.” He taunted. The two fighters prepared, and they began to spar. Yumi bowed, and then the fight was on. There were punches and kicks, and Yumi flipped up into the air. “That was pretty good, for a beginner.” Ulrich taunted. Yumi responded by kicking him in the face. Then, she easily pinned him. They blushed, and stood when Odd started cheering.

“You got beat up by a girl!” Odd laughed, and Ulrich grabbed his shoe and threw it, nearly hitting Odd’s head. “Hey, watch it! Someone could get seriously hurt.”

Ulrich’s eyebrow twitched, but he took a deep breath and looked at Yumi. “Hey, what took you so long?”

“Don’t be childish, Ulrich. I was just running behind.” Yumi sighed. “I stopped to talk to William and Princess Laura. She’d finished her studies at the Academy and was headed back to the castle.” She shook her head. “She said something strange, too; something about a prophecy being fulfilled. That girl is stranger than Odd.” She teased.

“No one,” Ulrich laughed, “is stranger than Odd.”

 

“Papa, I’m not joking! I saw it!” Princess Laura Gauthier pleaded with the King. The King shook his head. “Papa, I looked into the pool and I saw ash, and smoke, and fire!” Laura followed her father through the castle. “We’re going to be attacked! Papa! We must prepare!”

The King finally stopped avoiding her. “Laura, we are not going to be attacked! We have repaired relations with Nippon and are not under threat of colonization. The wilder elves have quietly resigned to nomadic lifestyles and those in our cities are converts and productive citizens. The drow have been dormant for a century at least, now.” He crossed his arms. “There is the occasional raid by orcs, but that is nothing our Rangers and soldiers cannot handle.”

Laura shook her head. “What if you’re wrong? I divined the future, Papa! We are in terrible danger!”

“Laura, I have had enough of this nonsense!” The King shouted. “We are not in danger! Now leave me in peace.” He closed the door to his bedchambers.

Laura huffed and pushed a blond hair from her face. She wore a light blue sleeveless shirt, a silver belt with pearls, dark blue pants and boots. Her armlets were silver, and she had white-gold bracelets on. Without her navy hood pulled up, you could see the pearls in her ears. Laura turned and stomped away, furious at her father for his disbelief. He had never trusted her magic, for he believed it came from what he called ‘mistakes of the Dreamers.’ In more technical terms, he meant ‘demons.’ So he dismissed all of her predictions, even though many had come true.

The princess stormed into the library, where she startled William Dendar, her personal bodyguard. William was a dark elf, or a drow, but other than his mischievous nature, he didn’t much act like a dark elf. He was a genuinely happy person. His skin was ashen, and his hair blue-black. His eyes were red like the fire of the Brazier. He wore commissioned white armor, light but protective. He also wielded a Zweihänder, a sword tracing its origins to Deutschland, in the north. “By the blood of the Creation Father, princess, you gave me quite a scare!” William laughed.

Laura threw up her hands. “He didn’t believe me! Can you believe that? I told him of the divination and he refused it!” She tore at her hair.

William tried to help. “Maybe it won’t come true. You said it yourself; the future is never certain.” He offered.

She shook her head. “No. This was too vivid to be a false vision. Too many people were dead. The fire was too hot. No, this is going to happen.” She looked up at him in determination. “We should go to the monastery and ask if they have any prophecies that match the vision I divined.”

When the sun had vanished for the evening, Laura and William snuck out of the castle and found their way to the monastery. Laura looked for the master of the archives, Brother Solaris. “Brother, I am looking for a book or a scroll or something that divines Capital Lyoko’s doom by fire.” She declared, approaching the monk.

Brother Solaris seemed confused. “There seems to be quite a bit of interest in that prophecy as of late. I apologize, my princess, but there is only one enchiridion on that prophecy, and it has already been borrowed.”

Laura narrowed her eyes. “Already borrowed by whom?”

 

Dhaune, a slave to House Kenval, looked nervously at the sleeping Matron. For one hundred years, Xana Kenval had slumbered, waiting for the chance to strike. Sinae had spoken—tonight was the night. Dhaune raised her arm to her mouth and bit her own wrist open, being allowed no dagger, and when she tasted the copper and iron of her blood, she held it to the Matron’s lips.

Seven drops of Dhaune’s blood slid into Xana’s mouth. The Matron’s yellow eyes opened, and color returned to her blue-black cheeks. She sat up, ran her fingers through her white hair, and noticed Dhaune. “Fetch me my dressings, slave. The ones gathered from that wilder witch—you know the ones that look like they are from the surface?” Dhaune was surprised to be in the presence of the one and only Xana. Dhaune was but an ugly child in her presence. She had ashen skin, but it was blotched white in some places on her face, and her eyes were green and accented her golden hair, both traits suggesting she had wilder blood. Perhaps, she noted bitterly, this was why Sinae had chosen her. Xana stood, and Dhaune rushed to gather the robes. Dhaune dressed the Matron, and then she brushed her hair. “Tell me, slave; what day is today?”

Dhaune struggled. “Today is the eleventh day of Matrinalis, in the eighth year of the Guardian.” It was Sunday, Justinian 11th, 5:08 Guardian. She scolded herself for not just say that. Xana didn’t seem to notice, which was a blessing.

“An entire age has passed. By the Destruction Mother, I slumbered for one hundred years.” Xana walked over to the steps and looked out over her city, looking at the dark elves as they scurried about to make the city presentable. “How long before we make our move against the surface? Are the soldiers and magicians prepared?” She asked.

“Overseer Sinae said that we are at your disposal.” Dhaune said.

Xana smiled her evil smile and summoned her necklace. It was carved with the Eye of Xana, symbol of House Kenval. She put it on, and it turned from coal black to teal blue. “That is excellent news. Then we shall begin our movement tonight. Will you join me, slave?” She asked.

Dhaune smiled wide. “It would be my honor, Matron Mother.”


	2. Summer 2

Episode 2: It Resumes

12th of Matrinalis

William slicked back his hair before he knocked on the door to the Ishiyama estate. It was traditional Nihonjin design, as it was elevated slightly off the ground and had curved thatched roofs. Takeho Ishiyama answered the door, and he seemed surprised to find an elf at his door. “Good morning, Mr. Ishiyama. Is Yumi here?” William asked.

Takeho thought for a moment, but nodded. “Yes, she’s in her room.”

“I’m not here for a social call,” William sighed. “I’m here on business.” He explained.

“I suppose you are employed by the King. Very well,” Takeho stepped aside to allow William inside. Before entering, he removed his shoes.

Yumi was inside, practicing her telekinesis. Despite her mastery of most Nihonjin weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, Yumi struggled with her telekinesis. She sat on the opposite side of the room and tried to lift a rag doll dressed as a geisha. When she heard a knock, she dropped the doll and opened the door, this time with her hands. “Hello, William. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” Yumi smiled. “What’s up?”

William smiled back. “I’m not here for a social call, like I told your dad. I’m here to ask you something on behalf of Princess Laura.”

Yumi’s face became stone. “What is it?” She asked.

“Do you know anyone named Jeremie Belpois?” He asked.

She thought for a while. “I remember my dad talking about a Michael Belpois, a tenet in one of our buildings, because his wife died a few years back during one of the orc raids. It was very sad.” She mulled that in her head for a moment. “In fact, they may have had a son. But I’ve never met him if he did.” Yumi looked William in the eyes. “Why are you looking for Jeremie Belpois?”

William shrugged. “Princess Laura has gotten it into her head that Capital Lyoko will be attacked and we’re all going to die and she thinks Jeremie Belpois has the one book that can decipher her divination.” He laughed.

Yumi flinched. “Oh gods, that does not sound good.” She said. She motioned for William to move, and she walked past him. “Come on, we’ll go get Laura and find the Belpois apartment.”

“Laura is in the carriage, just outside.” William said, following Yumi. She informed her parents she was leaving, and the two entered Laura’s carriage. “Yumi believes she knows where to find Jeremie, Princess.”

Laura smiled. “Oh, do you truly know?” She said excitedly. “Where are we headed then?”

“We’re headed near the market stalls.” She said, and Laura gave instructions to the driver.

 

Laura knocked politely on the door of the Belpois apartment. Michael answered the door, and when he saw the princess, he bowed. “Your Highness. To what do I owe this honor?” He asked, and she motioned for him to stand, and she entered the apartment. William and Yumi entered behind her.

She looked around and noticed many bookshelves. Michael was obviously devoted to his studies. “Your son borrowed a book from the monastery. I need it to decipher a divination.” Laura explained. She saw a painting of the family while the mother was still alive.

“Oh. Are you talking about the enchiridion on the Warrior’s last prophecy?” Michael asked. Laura nodded. “Yes, I had him collect that book. He had a nightmare, and it reminded me of the prophecy. He didn’t see the connections I did, however.” He admitted.

Laura cocked her head to the side. “He saw Lyoko burning?” She asked.

“Yes.” Michael said.

“May I speak with him?”

A few minutes later, Jeremie appeared and handed Laura the enchiridion. “I’m not sure what this is all about.” He admitted.

Laura opened the enchiridion. “You see, William? The Warrior predicted the same thing that I divined!” She pointed to the prophecy. “Lyoko will be attacked! I don’t know when, why or by whom, but we must evacuate!” She declared.

“Laura, if you don’t know when the attack will be, then your father will never agree to evacuate!” William argued. He took the book from her. “Look here. He talks about Heroes. Maybe if we find them, they can prevent the attack.” He reasoned.

“If Jeremie dreamed about the attack before even you could divine it, Laura, wouldn’t it make sense that he is a Hero?” Yumi asked.

Jeremie raised his hands up defensively. “No, I’m not a hero. I can barely lift my sword.” Jeremie found that the opportunity to be a hero was exciting to think about however. Hadn’t his father suggested something similar? “And how would you know if I was a hero? There is nothing in there that suggests how to find them.”

Laura looked around and found a bowl. She poured water into it and waved her wand over it. Her wand was elegantly designed—it burned incense, and was made of steel—and the water became cloudy. She summoned embers, which still burned even while floating on the water. “Show me the Heroes,” She bid, and the water spun, and smoke columned up, filling the room. 

In a lighter cloud of smoke, full color images began to appear. The first was Jeremie, the second Laura, then Yumi, then a boy with brown hair. “That’s Ulrich!” Yumi pointed out. The fifth picture was William, and the sixth was of a blond with pointed hair. “And there’s Odd!” The final picture was of a wild elf with pink hair. “I don’t recognize her. Do any of you?”

Jeremie nodded. “I bumped into her yesterday on my way home. We didn’t talk, but… you don’t forget someone like her.” He said. Laura looked at him briefly before clearing the room of smoke.

“So we can find six of the Heroes easily.” Laura said, and she added, “Mostly because four of them are us, but that isn’t important. How do we find the elf?” She asked.

“Perhaps the smoke gave us the Heroes in order. After all, the Outcast is listed last, and the one person no one could recognize came last.” Jeremie suggested.

Laura followed his line of thinking. “That would make you the Wise Man, and you might be able to telepathically give her instructions to meet us at a disclosed location!” She suggested.

Yumi looked up at Jeremie. “Want to give it a go, Jeremie?”

Jeremie sighed. “I could try.”

Laura smiled. “There is a ball tonight at the castle. Get her name and tell her to meet us there.” She instructed.

He wasn’t sure if he could, but he closed his eyes and pictured the elf in his head. He pictured her eyes, peeking just over the enchiridion. Then, he saw Sissi Delmas, a noblewoman with black hair and light blue eyes. He then saw a floor, and a hand with pink markings rise, as if to hold his head, but he felt nothing. He realized that he was seeing through the elf’s eyes.

“What’s wrong? You look ill.” Sissi asked. Her voices sounded echoed, as if he were underwater.

“Ir abelas, mistress. I feel something inside of me…” The elf said. So she did speak Common. Her voice was pleasant, even if it was distorted.

Jeremie took a deep breath. “Listen to me very closely. We know you to be one of the Heroes prophesized by the Warrior. Go to the castle tonight. Tell me your name, and I’ll make sure you gain entry.” He thought. He hoped that was how he was to communicate with her.

The elf looked up, and Sissi stood with her hands on her hips. “What do you mean something is inside of you? Are you under the influence of blood magic?” She asked.

“No, mistress, it just feels like someone is talking to me.” The elf said. Then, she spoke clearly, and Jeremie realized that she was responding. “My name is Aelita Stone-Hopper.” She thought, and then she severed the connection. Jeremie opened his eyes.

“Well?” Yumi asked. “Did you find her? Who is she?”

“Her name is Aelita Stone-Hopper. I think she’s employed by Sissi Delmas,” Jeremie explained.

William looked at nothing in particular. “That poor girl,” He said sympathetically.

Laura stood. “Well, I hope I’ll see you all tonight at the ball. We have to find a way to prevent Lyoko from burning.” She said, and she motioned for William to follow her. Yumi stood and followed them out, waving good-bye to Jeremie as she went.

 

Ulrich knocked on Odd’s door in his home. “Odd? Odd, Yumi invited us to some party at the castle. Apparently Princess Laura wants us there.” Ulrich waited for a reply, but heard nothing. “Odd? Odd, I’m coming in.” Ulrich opened the door to find Samantha Sanchez, an artist with long blond hair, straightening her skirt.

She looked up and laughed nervously. “Hello, Stern. It was nice seeing you, but I really have to go. My parents are expecting me.” Sanchez apologized, and she pushed past him.

Ulrich rolled his eye because Odd had done it again. The half-elf’s voice came from the room. “There are days I hate you.” He called out. A few moments later, Odd appeared. “We need to establish some ground rules about you coming into my house uninvited.”

“You say that every time, and yet there are still no ground rules and I still constantly walk in on you.” Ulrich said flippantly.

Odd held up a finger. “I resent that! If I got half as much action as you claim I do, the poor thing would either fall off or be whittled down to about this big!” He held his fingers less than five centimeters apart. Ulrich held up his hands defensively. This was not a conversation he wanted to have. Odd was a playboy, and a ‘swinger’ on top of that, so he was occasionally brought men and women over to his house. But, Ulrich hadn’t started teasing him about it until he walked in on Odd with a dwarf in drag. Odd didn’t recommend that.

“Anyway,” Ulrich said, “Princess Laura told Yumi that she wants us to attend the ball tonight. Yumi mentioned something about Heroes and a prophecy.” He shrugged.

“That explains why you look so fancy.” Odd noted. Ulrich had changed into Eastern finery. His vest was yellow, and he and gone through great lengths to make his boots and leather bracers look presentable. “Yeah, let me go get ready.” Odd entered his room and came out a few minutes later in a bright purple vest, a white shirt with purple sleeves and tight purple pants. He strapped his bow to his back and attached his quiver to his side.

The two teens met with Yumi outside of the castle. She was in a black-and-red kimono, and she wore a yellow obi. She had painted her face and put her hair up, and her mother had even woven flowers into it. “Gods above, Yumi, you… you look good.” Ulrich blushed. Yumi probably blushed too, but it was covered by her face paint.

“Ulrich, that line was butter.” Odd mocked. Ulrich glared at him.

“We have to wait for another person,” Yumi said, looking up at the clock tower. Then, she waved to someone running towards them from a figure running towards them. “Jeremie, we’re over here!” A boy with blond hair and spectacles ran up in a navy blue vest, white shirt, a brown overcoat and navy blue pants. He wore brown boots.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jeremie apologized. “Then these are…?” He asked, looking at Ulrich and Odd.

Yumi nodded. “Yes. These are the ones I told you about.”

Jeremie offered them his hand. Ulrich shook it, while Odd seized Jeremie’s spectacles and looked through them. “Please be careful. I need those to see,” Jeremie warned. Odd shrugged and gave them back. “I’ll tell you what I can, because I’m not sure what is safe to tell. The two of you, me, Yumi, William Dendar, Princess Laura and Aelita Stone-Hopper are Heroes. Laura believes that we can save Lyoko from burning if we work together, so she’s called us all here tonight.”

“Us? Heroes?” Odd laughed. “I’m pretty sure my dog Kiwi in chainmail is more heroic than you. No offense, Jeremie.” He apologized though giggles.

Jeremie laughed in spite of himself. “None taken,” He admitted.

Ulrich looked up. “How do you know that we’re Heroes?” He asked.

Yumi tried to explain. “Laura did something to a bowl of water, and she asked it to show us the Heroes. Smoke plumed up and filled the room, and we saw pictures of us, and the elf Jeremie mentioned. Besides, Jeremie was able to make a psychic connection with the elf, and with me, to inform me that he was on his way.” Her face twisted in confusion. “Still, we don’t know when the attack will happen. Laura wants us to be prepared regardless.”

The four teens entered the castle, and the guard checked their names on the list. They mingled for a bit, not wanting to look suspicious. Jeremie looked around for Laura and William, but found no trace of them. Then he saw Aelita, and he felt his breath leave his body.

She wore a long pink dress with archaic elven designs, and over the dress was a light blue transparent overskirt. Her shoulders were exposed, and she wore transparent magenta gloves. She looked around, clearly trying to locate someone. Jeremie jumped a little when he realized that she was looking for him. He walked over to her, and she spotted him. They met halfway. “Andaran atish’an, stranger. You don’t look like someone who belongs in this crowd, if you don’t mind me saying so.” The wild elf said, smiling.

Jeremie laughed. “Neither do you,” He pointed out. She shrugged. “You are Aelita Stone-Hopper, correct? I believe we’ve spoken before. My name is Jeremie Belpois.”

Aelita’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Are you the one who told me to meet you here?” She asked.

“Yes, that was me.” Jeremie nodded. He motioned to the back wall. “Perhaps we should move to someplace more private? I have some people I’d like you to meet.” She seemed hesitant, and he looked around. He saw Yumi, and closed his eyes. “Can you come and set her at ease?” He asked telepathically. She looked around and located them, and walked over.

Yumi offered Aelita her hand. “Hi, my name is Yumi. Jeremie asked me to reassure you that he isn’t going to hurt you.” Aelita seemed confused, and she added, “Don’t worry; we’ll explain everything once Princess Laura and William are here.”

They walked over to the back wall, and were soon joined by Ulrich and Odd. “So, this is Aelita Stone-Hopper, eh?” Odd said, leaning against the wall. “I have to admit, you are a real cutie. The gods have taste.” He flirted. Jeremie rolled his eyes in annoyance, and Ulrich picked up the half-elf and moved him away from Aelita.

“I think you’ve had enough for today, Della-Robbia,” Ulrich said flatly.

Odd looked off into the distance. “Cut me off of my fun, will you? I’ll remember this.”

Aelita took a few steps away from the wall, and she faced the four teens that surrounded her. “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” She asked. “Who are all of you? How can you communicate with me inside of my head? Why did you invite me to this party?”

They looked at each other. “We’re Heroes that have been chosen to protect Lyoko. And you are one of us, Aelita. Princess Laura believes that we are to protect Capital Lyoko from an upcoming attack.” Jeremie explained.

“We all just found out about this.” Ulrich admitted. “But we’ve been called to duty, and we are to respond.” He put a hand on Aelita’s shoulder.

Aelita didn’t seem too pleased about the idea of protecting humans, but she looked the others in the eyes, and her expression softened. A fanfare sounded, and Princess Laura entered with William just behind her. Laura wore a black ball gown with sky blue layers. William was in simple black leather armor, with white accents. She waited patiently as she was announced, and then located the rest of the group. She ran over to them. “So you found the elf, did you?” She asked Jeremie.

“I’m right here,” Aelita pointed out. Laura waved her off.

“Good. Then we can begin discussing our plans to defend the city.” Laura said.

 

Capital Lyoko sat near where the river met the sea. The castle sat in front of the ocean, and since Lyoko either owned land over the sea or was on friendly terms with coastal countries, this was an ideal location for defense. Xana looked over the city and studied it. “If we acquire ships, we can attack from the ocean, destroying the King and crippling their military defenses.” She mused, “Though I do not think that the King would see us as non-hostiles.” Xana relaxed in her sedan chair, and then she ordered the slaves to put her down. She exited the chamber, and approached Overseer Sinae, the elderly drow slave master. “Prepare the catapults.”

“Yes, Matron Mother.” Sinae complied and lit the boulders for the catapults on fire. “Launch!” Sinae ordered, and the army fired the catapults.

 

A huge crash could be heard from the gate. The ground trembled, and the group looked up at each other. “What was that?” Yumi asked, struggling to stay standing in her impractical shoes.

“Oh, gods,” Jeremie muttered. He shook his head. “The drow are attacking!” He declared.

“Right now?” Laura asked. “But we aren’t ready!”

Ulrich tried to gain his balance despite his vertigo. “We’ll have to make ready!”

Jeremie agreed. “Laura, William, the two of you should prepare here. The rest of us will evacuate as many people as we can to the ships!”

As Laura and William ran from the room, the others headed back out to the city, evacuating their respective parts of town. Odd, as he left, muttered, “It is official. Monday can suck my balls.”


	3. Summer 3

Episode 3: the Burning City

12th of Matrinalis

In a matter of minutes, Capital Lyoko had gone from a prosperous city to a flaming ruin. Everyone hurried for the docks, frantic to secure a spot on an outgoing boat for their families. Opportunists used this to make coin, cheating families out of their entire life’s savings. And they paid these outlandish prices, because after all, who could put a price on life? William tried his best to root out these people, but too many people were left with nothing. Too many people ran from the docks to find another way out of the city. Chaos was abounding.

Laura argued with her father, who wanted her on a boat. She blatantly refused, claiming it was her destiny to stay and fight. “Minerva’s mercy, Laura; even if you are some Hero of legend, are you truly saving anyone if you stay and fight? You’ll die!” The King argued.

“If we do not stand and fight these villains, we’ll all die!” She argued. The King tried to order guards to put her on a ship, but when they neared her, she summoned fire and created distance enough for her to flee, with William ever on her tail. They exchanged hasty glances, and hoped that the others fared better.

 

Ulrich wandered around the noble’s district, making as much noise as he could. Whenever possible, he threw rocks at windows, breaking them to cause a stir within otherwise dark houses. Nobles, he’d concluded, were some of the thickest people he’d ever met. And he was glad that he didn’t know many of them.

With a huge crash, part of Lyoko’s wall tumbled down, crushing many noble’s homes, and Ulrich hoped that they weren’t as thick as to sleep through repeated strikes on the wall. Dark elves climbed over the rubble, and Ulrich realized that he could never take on that many. He leapt over the gate of a home, and saw far too late that he approached the Delmas estate. He broke the lock anyway, and barricaded the door. Sissi, during one of their parents’ repeated attempts to bring them together, had mentioned an escape that leads to the Market District. He pushed rugs and pictures up off the floor and off the walls, searching for the escape route. “Ulrich dear?” A feminine voice behind him called, and Ulrich spun with his katanna drawn. He relaxed when he saw it was Sissi.

“First things first, Delmas,” Ulrich said, sheathing his blade. “I’m not your ‘Ulrich dear.’ Secondly, I need you to show me to the escape hatch. You should wake your parents and escape with them, while I’m thinking of it.” He instructed.

“My parents aren’t here,” Sissi grinned. “If you come with me, I’ll show you the escape and more.” She flirted shamelessly.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time for this, Sissi. Lyoko is under attack!” Ulrich shouted. Voices could be heard from the other side of the barricade. Ulrich ushered Sissi to the stairs, and he drew his katanna. Two drow soldiers forced their way through the door. Ulrich engaged them, taking the first one on head on, their swords clacking as they parried. The second soldier tried to attack Ulrich from behind, but Ulrich kicked him with a flourish, sending him face-first into the railing on the stairs. Sissi screeched, and she pulled a sword off the wall. Sissi stabbed the unconscious drow while Ulrich disarmed his opponent and drove his katanna through his gut. Ulrich saw more drow running towards them. “Sissi, more are coming! Grab that sword and show me to the escape hatch!” He ordered.

Sissi complied, struggling as she tried to remove the sword from the dead elf’s throat. She ran up the stairs while Ulrich sliced at the dark elves that tried to attack them. Sissi led him to her father’s study, and while she tried to open the hatch behind the bookshelf. Ulrich tried his best to protect the noble’s daughter. One of the drow poured lantern oil on the floor, and then dropped a match in it. The wooden floors quickly lit, and Sissi screamed. Ulrich ran and opened the hatch himself, and he threw the noble through it. He ran through the drow who approached the escape hatch, and then jumped inside when they were all dead.

Sissi grabbed a torch from the wall. “What’s going to happen to us?” She asked, her voice shaking from fear.

“You’re going to the docks to get on a boat out of this gods-forsaken city,” Ulrich ordered, sheathing his katanna and taking the torch. “I’m going to find my friends, and we’re going to try our best to stop this from going any further.”

 

Odd watched the sky as the smoke plumed. He noticed the moon, and he took note that it was a few days from being full. He grabbed a couple of pots from a porch and clapped them, causing as much noise as he could. His parents were among those fleeing, and they tried to convince him to flee with him. “No, please. Save your tears, guys,” He said, holding his mother’s chin up. She looked down at her feet. “Don’t worry about me, Mom. I promise that I’ll survive. Get yourselves to safety.”

He waved good-bye to his parents while directing the others out of the district. Odd saw a statue fall from the wall, and it landed on top of a crowd. He rushed toward them, and he tried to help some of the victims out from under the fallen statue. One of his sisters, Marie, appeared to have been crushed in the fall. She wasn’t moving. Odd rushed to her, and she didn’t even flinch. He checked her pulse, but couldn’t find it. He hung his head, mourning her, and he grabbed coins from his pocket and put them on her eyes.

A sudden rain of arrows fell, and he jumped away. He drew an arrow, and he fired it. Even at a distance, it hit on of the drow archers in the eye. He killed the others in a similar way, nearly taking an arrow to the knee when one of the newer recruits misfired in panic. He searched the wall for more archers, but finding none, he studied the arrow. “Any closer and this could’ve destroyed my career as an adventurer.” He noted. He placed it in his quiver, for it was of fine make. He said a prayer for his family, and then searched for more survivors.

 

Yumi could see another ship as it sailed towards the overseas Lyoko territory. Living near the coast had given many of the other families in her neighborhood an opportunity to flee on their own ships, and some were even kind enough to allow others on their ship. Yumi had, like the others, run home and gathered her things, and was now armed to the teeth. She was headed now towards the Market District, feeling in her bones that she was supposed to go there.

She felt something tug at her skirt. “Yumi! Don’t go!” A little boy demanded.

Yumi turned. “Hiroki, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Mom and Dad?” She asked, getting down on eye level with her younger brother.

“You’ll get yourself killed! Please, you have to escape with us!” Hiroki pleaded.

“Don’t fuss over me, little brother. There are more important things on the line than my life. Go, now.” Yumi said, hugging him. He lingered in her arms a moment to long, and then screamed. Yumi realized they were being attacked and used herself as a human shield to protect her brother. A lightning bolt struck her shoulder, which hurt immensely, but she fought through it.

Yumi targeted her foes. There were four of them, including the magician who had struck her. There were two soldiers and an archer. She threw three kunai at the magician, striking in his chest. He stumbled back, though he didn’t seem to be dead. She used this opportunity to hide her brother in a crevice between two fallen buildings. The soldiers attacked, and Yumi drew her bo staff. She twirled it so rapidly even the arrows from the archer could not penetrate it. She grinned, and took on the soldiers. The first was easily deposed of through three strikes to his face, but upon doing so, her staff broke.

But Yumi was not unprepared. She reached behind her and pulled her Tessen fans from her obi. She flicked them open, and she taunted the soldier. The soldier tried to strike her skull with his mace, but Yumi was more skilled. She blocked his attack with her arms, struck his neck with her iron fan and then, as he stumbled away, she kicked his jaw. He fell to the ground, and Yumi stomped on his neck, snapping it.

She spun around quickly, blocking an arrow with her fan. Yumi locked eyes with the archer, who now stood between her and the magician. Her shoulder still throbbing, Yumi fought the pain and threw her fans, striking his neck on both sides, essentially killing him. But now, she was left with no further weapons, except kunai, but she didn’t enjoy using those.

The magician used his bleeding chest as a power source, and he raised his fallen comrades. Yumi jumped inside the open window of the Fukui estate. She ran around inside, and she locked a door when she found a suitable hiding place. She bandaged her aching shoulder, and looked around. She found a Nihonjin sickle with an iron weight and chain in a weapons case, and she spun it around. She’d never really used chain weapons before, but it wouldn’t take long to master if her life was on the line.

The reanimated corpses broke down the door, and Yumi spun the chain to disarm them. She knocked them off their feet, and one by one she smashed the heads of the zombies using the sickle.

She flipped her hair back, and she searched for the magician. She dropped the sickle and grabbed her fans, and soon learned that the magician was gone. Yumi sighed, and she sheathed her fans. “Hiroki, you can come out now.” She called, approaching the crevice. But Hiroki was gone. She panicked, and realized that the magician had kidnapped her brother. She leaned against the fallen building, ashamed of her failure and panicked for her brother.

 

Unlike the others, Aelita did not have to warn the elves. They lived near the city gates and heard the fighting just as it begun. She instead packed up her things, and she helped escort anyone who needed it away from the burning walls. She saw a child struggling under a fallen statue. She ran to him, and when she could not pull him out, she took three steps back and summoned her magic.

Aelita had a deep and complex understanding of old magic. She could manipulate stone, ice and plant life, as well as summon animal spirits from Bellanaris, meaning ‘eternity’, what the wild elves called the realm of spirits. She focused on the marble statue, and she lifted it up off the ground. The child crawled out, but his leg was so damaged that he couldn’t stand. Aelita picked him up, and she looked sadly at his leg. “What is your name?” She asked.

The boy pushed his brown hair from his face. “My name is Johnny,” He said, holding her neck for dear life.

Aelita held out her hand, her palm facing out. “Elgar’halla bellanaris,” she called, summoning a deer from Bellanaris. It appeared at her command, and it bowed respectively as she placed Johnny on its back. “This deer is a friend. He will take you to the docks, and there you can find a doctor and a ship out of the city.” She bid the deer to stand. Johnny was amazed at the spirit—clearly it was incorporeal, but still it supported his weight. “Dareth shiral, da’len,” She said, and she ordered the deer to run.

 

Jeremie had not found his father. In fact, he hadn’t found anyone. He grabbed his mithril chain shoulder piece, and he found his mother’s old shield, Barricade. He strapped the shoulder piece on and the shield to his back. He grabbed valuable books from the bookshelf, like the Book of Dreams and the Warrior’s enchiridion, as well as several others. He stored them in his bag, and he rushed down the stairs to find himself surrounded not by drow but monsters. Some were small and yellow, resembling cockroaches. Others were large and red, like crabs. “These are dark elf constructs!” He exclaimed, his scholar roots taking hold. He jumped when one of the crab-like constructs tried to stab him. He drew his sword and shield. He carried the shield with his left arm, as he carried his sword with his right. He sliced at the monsters, striking at the symbols on their heads on the smaller monsters, and wounding the legs of those taller than him.

When he saw an opening, he ran, for he was not a fool. He ran straight into a cube-shaped monster, which fired a laser at his shoulder. Luckily it struck mithril, and Jeremie punched the monster with all his strength using his left hand. He may not have been strong, but mithril was stronger than steel, and his punch no doubt caused the construct a lot of pain.

He was forced into a market stall by another laser that struck him in the back. He sat in pain, and he turned. One of the red crabs had stalked him. Out of nowhere Ulrich jumped on it, and he drove his katanna into the symbol on its head. When the monster fell, Ulrich jumped into the market stall and helped Jeremie bandage his wounds. “Belpois, I think you need more practice.” The Mercenary joked.

Jeremie rolled his eyes. “I’m the son of a scholar, not a fighter.” He justified.

“If we survive all of this, I’ll give you some pointers.” Ulrich said. They stood, and they soon saw that they were surrounded by drow and constructs. “So much for those pointers,” Ulrich sighed.

A column fell onto the ambush, killing all but one of the roaches. A rock launched at it, sending it down into the well. “You boys looked like you were in a bit of trouble. I hoped I didn’t spoil your fun.” A feminine voice teased. Aelita peaked around the market stall, smiling.

Jeremie sighed with relief. “You have no idea how much trouble we were in. Ulrich couldn’t have taken on that many opponents, and I am…” His voice trailed off.

“Almost completely useless in a fight,” Ulrich finished. He patted Aelita’s shoulder. “Nice save there, kitten.” He complimented. Her smile grew.

Aelita looked to Jeremie. “Maybe we should call the others. I don’t think there’s anyone left in the city, unless we want to go searching through the sewers.” She said.

Odd, who had run up just in time to hear this, laughed despite being almost out of breath. “Who would willingly go through the sewers? That’s just gross,” He joked.

She shrugged. “I hear it is a wonderful way to get around without being seen.” She said.

Jeremie closed his eyes, contacting Yumi, Laura and William. “The others are almost here. I don’t think we should go far.”

Ulrich looked around at the abandoned stalls. “We should gather as many supplies as we can. I don’t think we’re getting out of this city on a boat, and the merchants won’t mind us… borrowing these things.” He said, collecting potions off the shelves. He also grabbed a backpack.

“Normally, I wouldn’t condone stealing, but this is hardly stealing, isn’t it?” Jeremie said. He started walking, though with an obvious limp. “Aelita, you’re a magician, right? You must be, seeing as how you toppled the column. Are you a healer?”

“By the Creator, no!” She exclaimed, shaking her hands. “You don’t want me to heal you. Whenever I try, something goes… wrong. If you need any more stone columns toppled, or if you need a tree or something, however, I’m here.” She laughed nervously.

He smiled weakly. “We’ll probably need food, tents, a map and potions. Split up, but don’t go too far.” Jeremie ordered, and the three other teens began searching the stalls.

Laura and William appeared soon after, and the princess ran to Jeremie’s side. “Are you injured?” She asked. He nodded, and she began healing his wound. “I’m sorry it took so long for us to get here. We had to push past hordes of people, and many of the main walkways are blocked.” She looked up for a brief moment to find Aelita staring at her. Even at a distance, she could feel the malice. Laura smirked, and kept healing. “You should be alright, for now.”

“Thank you, Laura.” He stood, his pain dimmed.

William spoke next. “How long do we have before they find us here?” He asked.

“Not long. Aelita crushed a lot of them under this column,” the Wise Man said, and William took a step away from it. “There aren’t just drow in this army. They’ve created constructs.”

Laura didn’t seem surprised. “My father spoke of their use of constructs in the Surface War. I’m not surprised they’ve resorted to blood magic again.” She said.

Finally, Yumi stumbled into the market, bleeding through her bandages and dark eyes puffy from crying. Both William and Ulrich ran to catch her as she stumbled, but it was Ulrich who managed to catch her. Laura prepared to heal her shoulder. “The dark elves took Hiroki. I can’t believe it. Gods, I told him to go with Mom and Dad! Why didn’t he listen?” She cried, and the others comforted her.

No one tried to compete for who felt the most pain. What was worse—to lose someone who had been in your arms only moments earlier, or to find them dead, or to not find them at all? They mourned together.

Laura broke the silence. “I’ve healed your shoulder, Yumi.” She said, and she looked to the others. “We can’t go to the docks. They’re running out of ships.”

“Is there another way out of the city?” Aelita asked.

William nodded. “My family home has a secret passage that leads out to the Scarwood Forest.” He said, helping Ulrich bring Yumi to her feet. “It is a bit of a walk, but I don’t think the dark elves will attack us there.”

Yumi stood up, brushing off the boys. With Yumi on her feet and supplies in tow, the teens began their trip to the Dendar estate.


	4. Summer 4

Episode 4: Embers

13th of Matrinalis, Tuesday

There was no celebration when the teenagers reached the end of the tunnel. They did not revel in their escape. They mourned for the dead, for the missing, and except for Aelita, their lost home. It was daybreak by the time they reached the Scarwood Forest, and they didn’t stop to rest until the column of smoke was just a streak on the horizon. By then, it was midday.

“So, I’ve been thinking if we’re going to be Heroes together and everything that we should get to know one another a little better.” Odd suggested. “Yumi, Ulrich and I know each other pretty well, and Yumi claims to know you and William, Your Highness, but I think we should all get better acquainted.” No one responded. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Okay, I guess I’ll go first.”

As they walked, Odd spoke of his history. He spoke of being the only boy in a litter of girls, and of being a half-elf in a racist city like Capital Lyoko. His father, an elf named Robert, had been a Ranger before deciding to pursue the career of a minstrel. He met Odd’s mother, a human named Marguerite, on his travels, and they married. They settled in Capital Lyoko shortly before Elizabeth was born, followed by Marie, Adele, Louise and Pauline. Odd was the youngest, and due to his parents being constantly busy, was primarily raised by his sisters. They liked to tease him, but he knew that they had his best interest at heart.

Odd admitted that while he more related to his human heritage, he was fascinated by his father’s work as a Ranger, an occupation primarily left to elves. Laura explained that it was out of respect that elves were assigned to guard nature, though Aelita insisted it was because the humans did not want them in the cities. In any case, Odd had asked his father to give him pointers, and due to his parents’ constant positive reinforcement, Robert gave him his old bow, which Odd kept with him.

“He said I was a natural born hunter,” Odd proclaimed, digging around in the bag of his belongings. “And not to brag, but he was right! I killed my first clan of vampires at only thirteen.” He commented proudly before returning to his bag.

Jeremie rolled his eyes. “No offense, Odd, but I doubt that you could take on an entire clan of vampires by yourself.” He commented.

“No, look,” Odd said, pulling out a blood red brooch from his bag. It was engraved with a simplified bat in front of the moon. “Their leader was wearing this. They looked pretty young, though. I can’t imagine they were very experienced.”

Jeremie held the brooch. “Perhaps they were newly turned vampires, or an offshoot of a larger more experienced clan.” He mused.

The Scout shrugged. “I don’t know. That could be true.” He looked up at Ulrich. “I volunteer you as the next storyteller!”

He scoffed. “There isn’t much to tell.” Ulrich was the son of a wealthy merchant, virtually a noblewoman in terms of finances, connections and lifestyle, and a former mariner. His mother’s parents disapproved of the match at first, but then his father proved he was of economic benefit when he connected Stern Mercantile to Zhongguo, a country in the east known for its high quality and exclusive goods. Even Ishiyama Imports hadn’t been able to set up long-term trade with Zhongguo.

Unlike Odd, Ulrich’s father was very strict. He did not approve of his obsession with foreign cultures or his dealings in combat, despite his history with the mariners. A big issue with his family was his friendship with Yumi. The Sterns and the Ishiyamas were economic rivals, so their friendship was ill-advised. Yumi confirmed this, and Odd made a comedic jibe at the two, causing an awkward situation for all. A lot of was Ulrich had learned about Nippon had been learned from Yumi, and his combat training had come from private tutors he’d paid for on his own.

Ulrich nudged Yumi as the sun started to hide itself behind the trees. “I think that it is your turn, Yumi.” He teased.

She thought for a moment. “I was born in Kitosu, a port city in Nippon.” She began. Her parents were part of the colonization process that ended shortly after Hiroki was born, and Yumi had lived in Lyoko since she was two. Every summer she visited Kitosu, until Lyoko fought against its Nihonjin occupiers. Due to their wealth, the Ishiyama family was permitted to stay, though they kept their connections in Nippon.

But as was so often the case with colonization, Yumi wasn’t sure where she belonged. She had been born in Nippon, and she loved her Mother Country, but she didn’t feel like she belonged there. Furthermore, she has a basic grasp of telekinesis, a skill more often applied in lands Lyoko controlled. It was disgraceful in Nippon at best, and at worse it was seen as being marked by a demon. 

Despite her parents wanting her to be a lady, Yumi was fascinated with her people’s martial arts. She studied tessenjutsu, bojutsu and various forms of ninjutsu. She had also combined her Ninja training with stealth she’d acquired in Lyoko, making her an ideal assassin, should she desire. Her parents thought she was weird, Hiroki thought nothing of it and her friends were impressed she was a weapons master at only seventeen.

Jeremie seemed the most impressed. “You’ve killed people before?” He asked.

Yumi seemed confused. “Of course I have. I’ve killed thieves, assassins, spies and most recently drow soldiers. Why are you so surprised? Haven’t you killed people before?”

He shook his head. “I’m not a real fighter. I know basic swordplay, but that’s about it. I killed some of the drow constructs yesterday. Does that count?”

Ulrich laughed. “Jeremie, saying that you aren’t a real fighter is like saying bunnies aren’t real monsters—a colossal understatement.”

William comforted the Wise Man. “Don’t worry. I expect that you’ll get a lot more experience in days to come.”

The sun had gone down now, though the moon had barely risen and the teens finally stopped to make camp. William and Aelita gathered firewood, and then Laura started the fire using her magic. Then they pitched their tents. They gathered around the fire, and Aelita suggested, “Jeremie, why don’t you tell us about your life?”

Jeremie seemed flustered, but he agreed. Jeremie had been born in Capital Lyoko, and his parents had taught him everything they knew about the world they lived in, though admittedly most of this knowledge was old and no longer relevant. However, he knew a lot about the gods, though how much of this he believed was in dispute, and he knew a bit about the nature of orcs and dwarves too. Aelita asked if he knew much about the elves, to which he offhandedly said that the only people who truly understood the elves were the elves themselves. She, surprisingly, laughed.

He also admitted that despite his fascination with swordplay, he had little skill in it, as he was not born with a sword in his hand, like Ulrich, Yumi and Odd had been. He also admitted that his skills were better used outside of combat, in tactics and conversation.

He left out the part about his mother’s death. It had been three years ago now, and she’d died at the hands of the orcs. Of course the culprits were executed, but it was painful to think about. Yumi and William knew from word of mouth, and they would later tell the others.

Laura volunteered to go next. She’d discovered an affinity for magic at the age of eight, and her parents enrolled her in the Grimoire Academy, the most prestigious school for magic in Lyoko. She especially excelled at healing magic, and due to her deep understanding of life magic, was also rather adept at using fire. Despite the fact she excelled in her studies, no healer, no matter how skilled, was able to save her mother, who died of the Miasma Wasting epidemic six years prior. Even Aelita remembered the ceremonies that were held in the Queen Mother’s honor all across Lyoko.

Laura sat up straighter as she continued. “But my mother is gone now and nothing can bring her back.” She spoke about her graduation at the top of her class, and her discovery of her gift in the field of divination. “William, maybe you should go next?” Laura suggested.

William rolled his eyes. “My family has lived in Lyoko since the fall Baetheri in 3:98 Codex. Since then, we’ve been considered practically nobility, despite the elf-blood.” He explained the role of House Dendar in the Great Colony War, and how William himself had been put into the King’s service.

Apparently William was more in-tune with his elf-blood than his family, and while he wanted to endear the dark elves to the people of Lyoko like his family, he also struggled with the mischievous urge all elves felt. Dark elves usually had a lighter sense of humor, which was ironic, and often their idea of pranks involved jealousy. William had almost caused the death of a nobleman during one such prank, though the King pardoned him when he learned of William’s skills in combat. He now served as Laura’s bodyguard, and as a non-servile manservant.

Aelita bitterly muttered he was a slave. William disagreed politely, and it was Laura who took offense to the comment. “Oh, and I suppose you know firsthand what slavery is like, knife ear?” She demanded.

The Outcast sat up. “I do, in fact. I’ve spent time in Arak-Muna!” There was a pause, the only sound to be heard coming from the crickets serenading the half-moon. Arak-Muna was a settlement in the south of Lyoko, near the Sea of Cobalt. It was one of the only places left in the Lyoko where slavery was still practiced openly. None of the teenagers were so foolish to believe that slavery didn’t exist in more modern areas—the Delmas family was rumored to keep slaves, and the Headmistress of the Grimoire Academy was known to purchase slaves as test subjects in classes dealing with destruction-oriented spells and for vivisection. But it wasn’t a practice that was looked upon kindly.

Slavery in Lyoko dated back to the founding of the kingdom in 1:13 Origin, before Nippon invaded and colonized in 4:22 East. The land had been called Elvehnan, and it had expanded over most of Lyoko’s four main regions. The elves had called it home then, and the humans overpowered and subjugated them. Many of Lyoko’s major cities, such as Capital Lyoko, Carthage and Kadic were built primarily on slave labor. Slavery in those cities had been abolished under Nihonjin rule, but there was never a lot done to force the issue, so the practice had continued into the fifth age. Arak-Muna, Carda, Bastium and Marsy were slave ports, with many small towns and farms depending on the slaves they provided to survive.

Many elves lived in peace within Lyoko’s cities now but some had rejected human rule after freed by the Nihonjin invasion. Most of these ‘wild elves’ were nomadic, rarely venturing near human cities and only then to trade. Arlathan resided in the south, a hundred miles north of Arak-Muna, and was the only surviving elven city. Their king lived there, and they frequently attacked by slave caravans. For Aelita to say she had spent time in Arak-Muna, it meant she had probably been captured during a raid.

Laura apologized quietly, and Aelita said nothing in return. The moon was high over the teenagers now, and they quietly went to bed, with Ulrich volunteering to be the first to keep watch.

 

Xana stepped carefully over the fallen statues and studied the faces of the dead, both allies and citizens alike. But there was one person who was missing in the debris—the King. She cursed in her native tongue, and Sinae approached with a line of prisoners behind her. “Our plan failed. The King still lives,” Xana complained.

Sinae did not seem worried. “We have captured Capital Lyoko. We have dealt a blow to his confidence already, Matron Mother. The Destructor smiles upon us tonight,” She said confidently. “And we have found many new human slaves, some who would make excellent blood sacrifices to increase your power, Matron Mother.”

The Matron nodded in agreement. One hundred years in a deep sleep had given her magic a much needed boost, but she was still not as powerful as she wanted to be, or as powerful as she needed to be to take over Lyoko, and then the known world. “Take the slaves to the cages, and we will begin our descent to Maera to restock and create more constructs.”

Sinae agreed, but before she could drag the slaves outside of the walls, a small voice raised in protest. “My older sister will stop you! You’ll never get away with this! Unhand me, you ashen-skinned heathen!”

Xana turned slowly to see a small Nihonjin boy struggling against the chains. She smirked and got on eye-level with the young boy. “And who is your older sister, da’len?” She asked. When he didn’t respond, she slapped his ear hard. “Speak, da’len, or I will force the words from you.”

“Yumi Ishiyama. Her name is Yumi Ishiyama and she will rescue me!” The boy shouted.

Xana tilted her head, and using her dagger, she cut a clump of hair from the boy’s head. She summoned a demon and demanded that it find the sister to the owner of the hair. The demon showed her a Nihonjin girl, about seventeen, walking with six others—four other humans, a Halfling, a drow and a wilder elf—through the forest. They were a motley crew no doubt, and Xana suddenly knew who they were. “She’va dahl, he is related to one of the Warrior’s prophesized Heroes!”

But her shock was not long lived. She laughed, throwing her head back and laughing from her gut. “By the Destruction Mother, fate sends children to combat my purpose? These da’vhen have no chance to oppose my rule!” She cackled.

When they reached Maera at moonrise, Xana bought supplies and began creating her constructs. She gave them the hair of the sibling, and ordered them to find the Hero who shared the parents. Xana slept that night, confident her plan would succeed.


	5. Summer 5

Episode 5: Ambushed

14th of Matrinalis

Odd was the last to wake up, and was pleased to find a warm breakfast waiting for him. It had been a long night, with physical exhaustion combating acute terror. A warm breakfast was welcome. Aelita had found some wild herbs in the woods, and she’d seasoned the porridge with them, with seemed to increase their stamina. The teenagers packed camp and Jeremie pulled out a map. “It seems to me that the closest town is Juno’s Eye.” Jeremie said, pointing to a position on the map. “We came out of the Dendar passage around here, and we went west from there, so I can’t imagine we’re any farther than this.”

Odd disagreed, “No, we aren’t there. We’re here. See, the tunnel let out here, though we did go west. I don’t think Juno’s Eye is closest, though. There’s a village called Narza at the base of the Baramunz Highlands. There are many dwarves living there, so there are bound to be high-quality weapons and under armor. Then we can get up to the Highlands, and gain access to the Western Plains without using the Imperial Highway.” Odd pointed, tracing his finger along the map.

Jeremie and Odd argued good-naturedly about their location, but seeing as how Odd had ventured more frequently from Capital Lyoko, they both decided that it would be best to follow his suggestion. It took about an hour to reach Narza, where a great many dwarves plied their trade. They sold more than just armor and weapons, but also little curios and other items. Jeremie found a book on telepathic theories, which due to his discovery of his telepathic connection with the others, intrigued him greatly. Laura found many scrolls that would help in tight situations. Yumi bought a new bo staff, which she twirled to get a feel for.

Ulrich managed to find a decent set of lock picks, which he quickly invested in. Lock picking was a hobby of his, and he was always looking for a chance to improve the skill. Since it seemed they were on the road permanently now, it would undoubtedly come in handy. William invested in a whetstone to sharpen his sword—for he had a large sword and he sharpened it often—and Odd purchased a blank book and charcoal, which in days to come he would fill with drawings.

Ulrich found Aelita just outside town speaking with elven merchants. She seemed to be intrigued with the rag dolls, but instead bought new clothes, something much more practical. Unlike the others, Aelita had found her home—a makeshift tent with only a few fragile possessions—to be completely burned, and since she had not expected the city to be attacked, she had not brought her real clothes. Luckily those clothes seemed replaceable—the clothes she bought at the merchant’s aravel seemed almost identical. “Kitten, did I see you looking at those dolls?” He teased with brotherly affection.

Ulrich was an only child, and he got the impression Aelita was lonely. Being introverted himself, he identified with the Outcast, and he viewed her as his little sister. In their two days, Ulrich had given her the nickname ‘kitten’ because of her obvious curiosity with the world around her (and quietly he admitted her pointed ears made the connection easier to make), and Ulrich was the first person Aelita had called ‘lethallin,’ which was a casual title given to a friend.

“Aneth ara, lethallin,” Aelita smiled, tucking her formal clothes into her bag and wrapping bandages up her legs for modesty. “I didn’t see you there. Did you buy anything at the durgen’len market?”

Ulrich almost questioned her on her words, but concluded she referred to the many dwarven merchants. “Lock picks, just in case. I see you bought new clothes, and don’t think that I didn’t notice you avoided my question.” He smirked.

She blushed. “No—I wasn’t looking at the dolls. I mean, I was, but I was just… admiring the craftsmanship. Those dolls are very well made, even for the elvhen.” She stood when she’d finished the wrappings, and she walked past them “We should meet up with the others.”

They stood in the center market, prepared to make the journey on. A young dwarven woman with long, blond hair and a claymore approached them. Despite her short stature, she was very beautiful, and her chainmail cut low to show cleavage. Odd began considering the likelihood that she would date him. “Atrast vala, outsiders. My name is Brynja Heringsdötir,” She greeted. She sized them up, her eyes lingering harshly on William and Aelita, probably due to the racism held between elves and dwarves. Nevertheless, she smiled and said, “The merchants say you are refugees, and that you bring word of kallak.”

Jeremie spoke, knowing what Brynja spoke of. “Yes, the dark elves attacked Capital Lyoko. We managed to escape, as did many others, but some were not so lucky. You should send word to the deshyr of Narza’s head kalna.”

The dwarf looked to him. “You surprise me, outsider. Not many would know enough about us to use our words correctly.” She smiled briefly, but it vanished. “The deshyr has added extra patrols to the Scarwood Forest, and this is why I must ask you to remain inside the boundaries of Narza until further notice.”

William seemed less than pleased. “We cannot stay here. We must continue forward, warn other towns and prevent more attacks when we can.” He protested.

Brynja eyed him angrily. “That’s not my problem, salroka. I’m not the one giving orders. If you wish to challenge the deshyr, you are welcome to try. There would be a hundred dwarven arrows in you before you could say ‘mercy,’ dirt farmer.” She spat.

William opened his mouth to challenge the dwarven woman, but Laura and Yumi calmed him. “No, William. We don’t want to antagonize them.” Yumi said, and he tried to calm himself.

 

A dwarven scout watched as drow constructs followed the path, and his breath caught when he saw a beautiful drow woman riding on a crab-like construct. Her hair was in braids, and she wore thin leather armor. The dwarf summoned his courage and blew as loud as he could on his horn, hoping that they could hear him in Narza. The drow stopped the constructs, and she jumped off the construct she rode. She pulled him from the hedge and ordered one of the cubed construct to strike him.

The dwarf was still alive when the drow kicked his throat and rode away.

 

Hearing the horn, Brynja and other warrior dwarves prepared for battle, and the Heroes stood alongside them. Odd stood next to the beautiful dwarf and eyed her. “So, uh, are you doing anything later?” He asked nonchalantly.

“Killing dirt walkers and leading the warriors of Narza to amgarrak,” Brynja said, holding her claymore threateningly. Odd nodded and prepared his bow. The constructs appeared on the horizon, and charged. “To arms, brothers! May Vulcan and Mars guide our swords to amgarrak!” The dwarves cheered, and they charged the constructs.

 

The battle had gone on for hours. The sun was starting to set, and the army grew weaker. Being too exhausted to fight any longer, Jeremie had climbed to the top of the building, monitoring the battle and giving suggestions to the other Heroes. He felt useless, but he vowed he would return to the battle as soon as he was able. But as a woman appeared in the staircase, he feared he would not be able to. “Who are you?” He demanded of the dark elf, “Who do you work for? Who attacked Capital Lyoko?”

The drow drew her twin khopeshes, and she pointed one at him. “I am Sinae, right hand of the Matron of House Kenval, Xana.” She said, clearly not bothered by conversing with one she wanted to kill.

Jeremie remembered the name. “Xana Kenval? Wasn’t she the leader of the dark elf uprising a hundred years ago? She caused the Surface War!” He shouted, drawing his blade. Xana Kenval had been defeated by one of Laura’s relatives an age ago, with the help of Saint Aelita Fen’harel the Wise, whom the Outcast was named after, though the elf had not survived the war. “You lie! Xana Kenval is dead!”

Sinae shook her head. “Not dead, but sleeping. We have waited for the day she could reawaken, and now she will finish what we started.” Sinae prepared to strike, and Jeremie prepared as well. “Not that you’ll survive to tell anyone, shem. Prepare to die,”

Sinae struck first, and Jeremie moved quickly to block the strike with his shield. She sliced with her off-hand khopesh, and he jumped out of the way. Jeremie dodged many of her attacks, studying her movement. When he saw an opportunity to weaken her, he took it, stabbing her in the stomach.

Jeremie had heard the others tell of their first kills, with the exception of Aelita and Laura. He had expected it to feel no different than killing a construct, but he was wrong. He saw the pain in her eyes, whereas a construct felt nothing. He had this pit growing in his stomach, and he pulled the sword out of the drow. She fell onto him, and he panicked, pushing her off of him. They stood near enough to the side of the building that the push sent her corpse over the edge, falling with a ‘thump’ into the market square.

Jeremie had killed someone, and he would try his best not to do it again, no matter what. A Hero I may be, he thought, but a murderer I am not.

 

Without Sinae to lead them, the constructs fell one by one. Many dwarves had died, but the citizens of Narza spoke of them with great honor. Brynja thanked the Heroes for their assistance, and presented them with a small sack of gold for helping protect the settlement. That night, as Odd was scouting the area and Laura started the fire, Jeremie explained what he had learned from Sinae before she died.

“Elgar’nan! The Dark Mother has returned?” Aelita exclaimed. “By the Creation Father, if what you say is true, then not even the Heroes of Old can stop her! A hundred years of her magic growing…” She held her fist to her mouth to quiet its trembling.

Laura looked at Jeremie. “It’s true. We’re just children. We don’t stand a chance against Xana Kenval.” She looked to her toes. “Gods, I thought we could actually win this war. But if she is awake, we can’t.”

Yumi remembered studying Xana. She was born a noble in the Underdark, and was easily the most talented magician in her class. Xana was believed to have been defeated in the Siege of the Leifreholm the Blooded. But it appears that she was merely in a stage of deep sleep. “I don’t believe that, Laura. If Xana was defeated once, then she can be defeated again.”

Ulrich agreed. “Xana is just a person. People die all the time. Why should this drow be so different?” He reasoned.

“It won’t be easy,” William stated. “One hundred years have improved the drow, just like the humans, elves, orcs and dwarves. There will be an army of constructs and dark elves waiting to lay down their lives in her name, and in the name of the Destruction Mother.” William had experience with the paranoia of the drow.

Ulrich glared at him. “No one said it would be easy.” He smirked. “Besides, William, you aren’t deterred by a challenge, are you?” The statement had undertones of something more than his words implied. Ulrich was challenging William to something, but what?

Jeremie looked at his toes. He did not mention Sinae’s death. He looked up at the others. “So are we decided? We’re going to take the fight to Xana?”

The others seemed hesitant. After all, none of them were older than eighteen. But Xana was the bigger problem, not their ages. They nodded their heads in agreement. Suddenly, Odd appeared out of the dense woods. “Hey, come see what I found!” He said, ushering them into the woods.

Odd led them to a landship used by the wilder elves, and Aelita’s eyes lit up when she saw it. It seemed abandoned, as the fire was out and the inside had been cleaned of potions, weapons and books. “Odd, you found an aravel!” She entered it, and she confirmed that it had belonged to a wandering clan. “This looks like it belonged to the Minore clan, which was almost completely decimated in an orc raid three years ago. I suppose the survivors abandoned the aravel to travel faster.”

“I don’t think that they would mind if we, say, borrowed it. I doubt they are coming back, judging by the amount of dust in here.” Odd said, and Aelita agreed.

With some assistance from a conjured deer, the teenagers brought the aravel back to the campsite. They loaded the landship with Jeremie’s books, Laura’s scrolls and several miscellaneous objects that were not needed inside the tents or would slow down their individual travel. Then they locked it, and Aelita confirmed that it would not easily be broken into. “I’ll take the first watch,” Jeremie said, his voice pained. “I don’t think I’ll be getting any sleep tonight, anyway.”


	6. Summer 6

Episode 6: Dreamland

16th of Matrinalis

Xana slammed her fists angrily on the table. “How do these children keep evading me?” She shouted, clearly frustrated at her recent failure. Dhaune tried to comfort the Matron, but clearly she was too frustrated to fall to such false comforts. “How are they so strong? They survived the burning of Capital Lyoko, and the attack of Narza. What power protects them?”

Dhaune smiled. “Perhaps the magic of friendship is protecting them and giving them strength?” She offered, offering a shawl to Xana.

Xana stopped pacing, thought for a moment, and then looked at the slave. “Dhaune, do you have any idea how incredibly stupid you just sounded?” She asked, not really angry but honestly curious. Xana had been slumbering for a century, and depended on Dhaune to explain things to her. But some things were timeless.

Dhaune half-laughed, “I suppose you’re right, Matron Mother,” Dhaune watched as Xana paced about the room.

“Sinae was the leader of the attack, and the little one with the glass in front of his eyes did me a favor in eliminating her. The last thing I need is a female claiming my title.” Xana mused, and she turned to face her right-hand slave. “Where are they headed now?”

Dhaune looked at the war map. The teenage Heroes were marked with a red pin, whereas the drow armies were marked in blue. “Our scouts last saw them on the path up the Baramunz Highlands. I cannot believe that they are but a day’s journey to Koranth.”

Xana remembered Koranth. “Didn’t the armies destroy that village in the first few attacks of the Surface War?” She asked.

Dhaune nodded. “The Veil is still thin there. Spirits often cross over from the Beyond and the village is often ransacked by them. Perhaps you should summon some there?” She suggested.

Xana walked over to the map and summoned her magic. “I can do you one better,” She said, smiling as she walked away. “I will hunt them down to the deepest, darkest ring of Bellanaris to see them dead!”

 

17th of Matrinalis

Laura and Aelita were both visibly concerned as they continued their path up the mountains. To a lesser extent Yumi could also feel the air shiver, as if it feared something the teenagers could not see. In a rare moment of agreement, Aelita looked to Laura and asked, “You sense it, too? This is Setheneran,” She shivered, and it wasn’t because of the climate.

Laura nodded. “If that means we’re walking right into a hotbed of demon activity, then I wholeheartedly agree.” She said.

Odd looked at them skeptically. “Gods strike me down. If the two of you are in agreement, then truly this is the end of the world.”

Jeremie looked to them skeptically as well. “I have to agree with Odd. I doubt we’re truly going to come across any demons. They’re just stories; a way for magistrates and magicians to justify caution.” He said logically.

Aelita shook her head. “No, you’re wrong, lethallin,” She explained, “Spirits are every bit as real as you and I are. They call to us in our dreams, especially to magicians. That is how magicians learn blood magic, and how they raise corpses.” She shivered again, and drew her dagger. It was of fine make—the edge of the blade was made of pure ebony, with swirls and designs carved into it, while the actual blade was mithril and very sharp. She studied it in her hands, rubbing the carved fox on the walnut handle.

Ulrich seemed particularly interested in the idea of facing demons. “You mean that we’re walking closer to a land of dreams?” He asked excitedly.

Jeremie looked at him in exasperation. “You sound just like my father,” He complained.

Aelita smiled. “In a sense, the Beyond, as shemlen call it, does reflect our dreams, as that is where our unconscious goes in our sleep. Spirits shape the world there, and they copy what they see in our dreams. Stories of how the Beyond came to be differ, however.”

That was true enough. The humans claimed that the god Morpheus created the Beyond, and worked with his father Somnus to bring man there when he slept. Then, most of the gods created spirits or demons resembling themselves and gave them power to shape the Beyond. The elves, on the other hand, claimed that before the Mother and the Father had their disagreement, they created both the physical world and the Beyond, which entombed multiple rings, and these rings home to the spirits of the dead. When the two split apart, the Creation Father tried to reconcile the two by showing the Destruction Mother all of the good and the bad things about their relationship, resulting in the middle section of the Beyond, which was home to demons. Dwarves and some humans simply considered it a physical representation of the mortal mind.

All theories butted heads, and caused conflict across the land. Though all theories urged caution when dealing with both kinds of spirits, the approaches to them were entirely different. That was why elves were so much easier to lure to blood magic—even though it was looked on as, if not black certainly grey magic—the spirits came from the Creator, and were not entirely evil, whereas humans believed all blood magic to be evil and the result of witches or malevolent gods.

William stretched his arms over his head. “Still, if Her Majesty requests extra precautions to be taken, I think it would be best were we to listen.”

Soon, on the horizon, the quaint village of Koranth came into view. But as they drew closer, the non-magicians grew sleepy, and Laura and Aelita were desperately fighting their artificial exhaustion. “Resist! You must resist, or else they have us where they want us!” Laura warned, but soon, they had all fallen asleep, even the magicians. The dreams that would follow were watched by a woman with an evil laugh.

 

Ulrich woke up in Koranth, but he felt wrong. He looked down at his hands, which felt smaller than they had been. Looking up at Yumi and the others, their bodies seemed strangely distorted, and he felt as if he were looking at them through a curved lens. Standing, he could see Yumi seemed paler, and Odd had grown fur on his face and arms, looking wild. “Where are we?” He asked, looking around. The world looked like it was covered in pale yellow mist.

“This is the first ring of the Beyond,” Aelita said, standing. “If I had to guess, someone knew we would pass by here, and set up a trap for us. I feel a spirit of sloth lurking in the shadows. Perhaps if we destroyed it, it would break the spell.”

Laura snapped her head to look at the elf. “How are you able to sense demons? I can feel where the Veil is thin, but demons as a whole are largely lost to me.” She asked with suspicion obvious in her voice.

Aelita crinkled her nose. “It is a skill passed onto me by my hahren, honed by the People over centuries.” She explained defensively, but Laura did not seem convinced. “Spirits have a different energy than the souls and the whole of Bellanaris,” Aelita tried to help her understand.

“And yet I notice how you do not use the word demon.” Laura accused.

Aelita raised her shoulders in offense. “What are you insinuating? It is a religious difference between that of the People and of the shemlen! We don’t consider spirits and demons different!” It was Odd that separated the two magician girls, but this argument would mark the first of many that would follow.

Yumi looked into the village. There seemed to be many people trapped there, shivering in fear. “Who are those people? Are they spirits?”

William spoke up. “My mother was a magician, and though I never believed her, she said that the spirits of people can be trapped unwillingly in the Beyond. If it happened to us, I don’t think it is impossible for the villagers to be trapped too.”

“In any case, if there really is a demon watching us, our first mission is to kill it,” Jeremie explained, “Once we’ve done that, we should be able to free ourselves and the villagers. If not, then there may be something we can do in the physical world.”

Odd sighed. “Great. Because my dreams weren’t weird enough already, now we’re stuck in the world of dreams.” Ulrich questioned him about his animalistic appearance, but Odd didn’t respond.

Walking in the Beyond felt bizarre, like trying to tread butter, and yet they never grew tired. It felt like it took an hour to cross into the actual village. Most people were afraid, but none had actual faces. There were black scribbles where their faces should have been, and Ulrich seemed disturbed to be near them. He walked in the center of the group, his hand twitching near the hilt of his blade. “Do you suppose he is one of the Blind?” Aelita wondered aloud, considering the possibility.

“It is possible. If so, we should find this demon of yours and get out of here before the Beyond further twists his mind.” Laura said. Aelita was about to protest to the Fair calling the sloth spirit hers, but she was interrupted.

“Who are the Blind?” Odd asked as he tried to comfort his lifelong friend.

“The Blind are people who are preternaturally cut off from the Beyond. They cannot dream and if exposed to the Beyond too long, can go crazy. We should look faster.” Aelita said, trying to comfort Ulrich.

As they walked further, an elf with a very ghostly appearance glided up to them. “By the Creator, you are a fellow wilder! Truly, this is a blessed day!” The ghost said, his voice echoed.

Odd pushed Aelita forward. “I think he’s talking to you,” He said.

Aelita walked closer to him. “Andaran atish’an, lethallin. Are you trapped here as well?” She asked, pretending that his face was not obscured.

“Am I? I do not recall. We have been here for so long.” The elf shook his head. “Tell me, da’len, how have you come here?” He asked.

“We seem to have been trapped here by a spirit of sloth. I imagine all of you are trapped here, too.” Aelita explained.

The elf thought. “A spirit of sloth? Yes, I remember a spirit, but it is gone now. It no longer binds us. Perhaps if you banish this spirit, we will be freed, too.” He didn’t allow her the chance to reply, walking off into the distance.

Yumi shook her head as well. “Some help that was,” She muttered. She looked to Aelita. “I hope you have a better plan.”

She looked around the village. “Spirits such as sloth like to feel important, especially more important than other spirits. The sloth spirit we’re looking for is probably in a large, important building.” She theorized.

The teenagers thought for a while. “I’ll bet this village has a town hall.” Odd offered. “If I were a demon, I’d overthrow the mayor. Or, we could go to the village temple. I’m sure that we can find desecrated shrines to the gods or something.”

“That’s a great idea, Odd!” William complimented.

Odd didn’t seem surprised. “I have them all the time. I don’t understand why people are always so surprised.” He said in annoyance.

They decided to search the temple first, because it was closer and Laura advised that it was unwise to split up in the Beyond. They found more anxious, faceless people, but no demons. “Quickly, before Ulrich runs out of time,” Yumi said as she and Odd tried their best to drag their old friend along to the next largest building.

“Before we run out of time,” William muttered, following the others.

The mist around their feet grew thicker and darker as they approached. “We must be getting closer. Do you feel the malevolence in the air?” Jeremie asked.

Laura laughed in spite of herself. “It isn’t air, Jeremie. We’re in the Beyond.” He looked at her, and she smiled smugly. “Still, I think Odd’s first instinct may have been correct. What do you think, knife-ear?” She turned to Aelita with her insult, clearly trying to annoy her.

“I think that you can take your prissy ass, Miss Thing, and—” Aelita began, but was urged to stop by Yumi and William. She flipped her hair out of her face. “I think that the spirit is nearby, yes.” She murmured angrily.

Odd opened the door to the building in front of them. It was completely empty inside, except for several faceless corpses. When Yumi entered, she jumped when one of them moved slightly. These bodies were not corpses, but simply had no energy. She hoped that they were still alive. The others entered, and from the opening in the ceiling came a large oval-shaped demon with four legs, and it landed on the fountain. It made an angry noise, but didn’t charge the teenagers. “Is that the demon we’re looking for?” Odd asked.

Aelita nodded. “Yes, that is a spirit of sloth. Think active thoughts, like running and jumping and such,” She advised.

Sloth demons did not get their name by being lazy. No demon got their name by exhibiting a trait. They got their names by feeding on one. Unlike most demons that nurtured and fed on a trait already existing, sloth demons found energetic mortals and fed on their life force. They did this by giving off a sleepy aura. Thinking active thoughts was supposed to combat the drowsiness.

This demon did not try to speak to the Heroes, but instead made a sound that was louder and angrier. Its center glowed with the same symbol the constructs that had attacked Capital Lyoko and Narza had possessed. Jeremie pointed to it. “That demon was summoned here by Xana! No wonder it took aim at us!” He declared.

The warriors, excluding Ulrich, who could barely stand, and Aelita, who was trying to keep him awake, prepared to fight. Odd readied his bow and jumped up onto a high bookshelf. Yumi readied her fans, pacing around the open room, acting as defense. William and Jeremie drew their swords, and Jeremie prepared to block attack with his shield. Laura grabbed her wand, and while she wanted to prepare her fire spells, she knew her training as a priest would be more helpful.

Yumi was the first to strike, throwing one of her Tessen fans at the demon, crippling one of the legs. It stumbled, but it started to glide towards Yumi. Odd fired his readied arrow, pinning it to the back wall. It struggled, putting out a black aura to weaken their defenses. Jeremie nodded at William, who nodded back. He charged for the demon, and Laura cast a spell on him, increasing his strength to combat the work of the demon. William banished the demon, and the world around them grew hazy.

The elf-spirit approached Aelita, who smiled as Ulrich’s eyes stopped twitching. She looked up at the spirit. “Will you find me, da’len?” The spirit asked. “We have been here for too long. I will not make it. Will you sing for me?”

Aelita agreed as the Beyond faded.

 

The teenagers awoke on the outskirts of town, exactly where they’d lost consciousness. The Veil was still weak, but it was stronger, and the sense of foreboding was gone. The village was in ruins, as if it had been burned. It felt too familiar to walk through the bones of a dead village, and Aelita looked around for an elven corpse. She found it inside of a bookstore, behind the counter. “Here you are. I promised you I’d sing, didn’t I?” She said.

The singing of the elven eulogy was as important to the wilder elves as the funeral processions of the humans were to them. Aelita had been trained briefly in funeral rights, and knew the song she was to sing. She sat on her knees, and she held a hand over the corpse with her eyes closed.

“Hahren na melana salin  
Emma ir abelas  
Souver’inan isala hamin  
Vhenan him dor’felas  
In uthenera na revas.

Vir sulahn’nehn  
Vir dirthera  
Vir samahl la numin  
Vir lath sa’vunin.”

Aelita opened her eyes, and she looked sadly at her companions. Later that night she would explain the meaning of the lyrics, but now was not the time.

 

If Xana had been angry before, she was infuriated now. She threw a book across the room, yelling at the top of her lungs. “If I cannot outmaneuver them, perhaps I should try taking them down from the inside…” Xana mused, trying to redirect her rage. The necklace she wore had gone from teal blue to red, and it burned her like hot ash.

Dhaune offered her a plate of lizard eggs to calm her down. “Are you going to stalk them in their dreams, Matron Mother?” She asked.

Xana thought. “Perhaps I will, though that will require more effort than I’d like to put into seven children.” She said. She looked at Dhaune with more interest than she’d ever shown the slave, and while Dhaune adored the Matron, her look made her very nervous. “On the other hand, Dhaune… you look about their age.”


	7. Summer 7

Episode 7: Dhaune

1st of Solis

When Laura woke, Jeremie was still tending to the fire, though it was now only embers in the pit they had dug. It was the first time she’d been alone with him since Koranth, though that had been two weeks ago. “Good morning, Princess,” He said, not looking up from the fire. Jeremie, nor any of her companions, were ever informal with her. Aelita called her names, but Laura did the same. Laura thought Aelita was suspicious, and she needed to tell Jeremie, who had become sort of their leader, though the Fair often tried to undermine his authority.

“Good morning, Jeremie. You’re just the Hero I wanted to talk to,” She said, sitting next to him by the fire. “Do you want me to get that going for you?” She asked, pointing to the fire pit.

“If you want to, sure,” He said as he leaned back so as not to catch his hair on fire as Laura started a larger fire. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

She struggled to find the words. “It’s about the elf,” She said.

Jeremie let out a chuckle. “Which one? We have two in our company. Three, if you count Odd.”

“The magician. Aelita,”

“You two really don’t get along, do you?” Jeremie teased lightly.

Laura rolled her eyes. “That’s the thing, you see. I… don’t trust her. And I don’t think you should either.” She warned. Jeremie tried to wave her off, but she persisted. “Think about it, Jeremie! She can sense demons, and she won’t tell us where she’s from!”

“Listen, Laura. Your divination revealed Aelita to us, clear as day. She is a Hero, just like the rest of us. She has every right to be here as you do!” He said shortly as Yumi, William and Ulrich appeared from their respective tents. “Ah, but now we are not alone. I think we’re done here.”

With Yumi’s help, William began to fry fish he’d caught in the river the night before. The smell of food soon brought Odd out of bed, and Aelita eventually joined them. Yumi teased the elf girl gently, “There you are! I didn’t think we’d see you at all today.”

Aelita smiled and shrugged. “I’m a bit of a night owl. Besides, sleeping really is wonderful.”

The teenagers joked and chatted over breakfast. It felt nice on days like this to not worry about the mortal danger they were in, and to socialize like they normally would. But when Odd heard a sound, suddenly everyone was still. Odd grabbed his bow and quiver, and slowly he drew an arrow. The others grabbed their weapons, preparing for whatever threat the Scout had heard.

A dark elf suddenly burst through the bushes, and while Odd almost released his arrow at her, Jeremie ordered him to stand down. Upon closer inspection, the drow was in no way a threat to them. She carried no weapon but the tattered tunic on her back, meaning she was in no way a soldier. Odd also noted that she was not very pretty, considering most elves he met had an air of dignity and beauty that this elf did not possess. Were he a little cruder with higher standards he may have even called her ugly—her skin was blotched white around her jawline and up to about her nose on the right side of her face. Her green eyes seemed out of place on a drow, as did her dim blond hair. “Please, please, you have to help me!” She cried out, holding her stomach in pain.

Laura and William approached the dark elf. “Calm down, sister. How can we help?” William asked as he placed his hands on her quivering shoulders.

The drow moved her arms, revealing her tunic to be stained with red blood. “Gods above, you’re bleeding!” Laura said, and she tried to help the drow up.

Ulrich stopped her. “Wait, why are you bleeding? What happened? Did you do this to yourself? Were you attacked?” He questioned.

Yumi seemed offended on the girl’s behalf. “Who cares what happened to her? She’ll die unless we do something!”

Jeremie looked up at Yumi. “No, he’s right. This could be a trap.” He looked back to the girl. “What happened to you?”

She hesitated. “I was trying to escape… being sacrificed. I was a… a slave. There were… scouts. They attacked me. Please, I don’t want to die!” She started to breathe heavier.

Aelita raised her hands to her mouth. “Oh, the poor dear! We have to help her!”

With William’s help, Laura lifted the former slave off the ground and carried her into the aravel, where there were two beds. Laura immediately began to heal the wound while Jeremie shouted for the Vanguard to join them. The scouts the drow had spoken of were constructs, and a dozen of them at that. Odd seemed thrilled. “Six of us, twelve of them. Fortuna smiles on us this day, no?”

Odd was the first to strike, striking one of the crab-like constructs in it joint, bringing it down so he could strike at the center of its head with his clawed gauntlets. He jumped off of it and onto a low-hanging branch on a nearby tree, firing an arrow at a cockroach construct.

Yumi had engaged one of the crabs as well, knocking the construct off of its legs and giving her a chance to kill it from its soft underbelly. One of the cockroaches approached her. “Ugh, aren’t you an ugly little thing?” She cringed. It started to attack her, but she kicked it with her steel-toed boot and it hit a tree with such force that it did not get back up. A wasp-like construct hit her shoulder, but before she could retaliate, Aelita had thrown a stone into it. The elf saluted her.

Aelita was a skilled magician, and knew many forms of magic, but she was a glass canon—easily taken down. She’d developed ways to protect herself, and when a crab tried to attack her from behind, she demonstrated one of them. She burst into a cloud of blue butterflies, a skill she’d learned after connecting with nature. The butterflies flew and collected over the crab, and she stabbed the symbol with her dagger.

When more constructs came, William couldn’t have been happier. They were the little ones, easily taken down. He used his sword to take down two of them, and following Yumi’s lead, he kicked another. He set his sights on a crab, and one he’d sunken his sword into it, he jumped and slashed at a wasp.

Jeremie blocked most of the attacks with his shield, and similar to the attack on Capital Lyoko, slicing quickly at their joints to bring them down, as he could never jump high enough to kill one like the others. He spotted a wasp headed for Aelita, and thinking quickly, he grabbed a cockroach by the leg and shouted, “Odd, head’s up!” Jeremie threw the cockroach at the wasp, and Odd shot both of the constructs with a single arrow, pinning them to the tree.

“Nice shot, Belpois! I didn’t know you had it in you!” Odd complimented.

“They only weigh, like, five pounds,” Jeremie said.

Ulrich was near the entrance to the aravel, trying his best to keep the constructs from entering their portable infirmary. He used his katanna to kill any that came near, and he spotted a dark, gleaming sphere in the bushes. Carefully, he approached, and it opened, revealing a symbol in the center panel. It prepared to fire a laser, and Ulrich blocked it with his katanna, but he felt it pushing him back. “Hey, Jeremie, think you can handle this?” He shouted back. Jeremie nodded reluctantly, hiding behind his shield. Ulrich moved, and the laser wall expanded, now pushing against Barricade.

The Mercenary ran and sliced at the outside of the sphere, though nothing he tried managed to penetrate the shell. “If you could just hurry up and kill the construct, that’d be great!” Jeremie shouted. Aelita shouted for Ulrich to move, and she threw a large boulder at the construct, knocking it off-balance. Ulrich jumped onto it, and he stabbed the sphere’s center.

It seemed that the spherical tank was the last monster, and the camp was now littered with construct corpses. Odd slumped against the aravel. “Gods, it should be illegal to work that hard after breakfast!” He complained. Jeremie, Ulrich, William and Aelita apparently agreed, as they slumped around the fire or on the aravel.

Yumi rolled her eyes. “I’m going to check up on Laura and the dark elf.” She announced, and she entered the aravel. Laura seemed to have stopped the bleeding, but the elf had passed out. “How is she doing?” Yumi asked.

Laura looked up from the book she was reading. “Oh, Yumi. Did I hear fighting outside? I was preoccupied.”

Yumi nodded. “We just took on what felt like a legion of constructs. And don’t think that I’ve forgotten that you didn’t answer my question.”

Laura looked down at the drow. “She’s sleeping now. I managed to get that Xana was planning to use her blood to locate us, and that her name is Dhaune. I didn’t get anything else from her, though. Jeremie will probably want to interrogate her once she wakes up.”

“Maybe. Anyway, we should pack up. This camp won’t be safe anymore.” Yumi advised, and Laura agreed.

The teens exited the aravel, and they quickly packed up, giving the horse they’d bought to pull the aravel, Rorkal, a bag of feed before moving camp. They had many small towns to warn before they reached Kadic, a large city.

 

That night, when the teens had set up camp again, Yumi went to check on Dhaune. She was awake, and clearly confused. “Where am I?” She asked the Colonist, her green eyes trembling in fear.

Yumi thought for a moment. “I think Jeremie and Odd said that we’re about two days from Bryhill, and I trust that they, at least, know where we are. I don’t think Odd would lead us in circles, anyway.” She shrugged with a smile.

Dhaune smiled briefly, but it faded. “Thank you. For earlier. That was you who stood up to the boy who wanted to leave me to die, wasn’t it?” She said.

Yumi nodded. “Yes, that was me. And you don’t need to thank me.” Dhaune was not like what she’d expected a dark elf slave to be like. Her thoughts wandered to Hiroki, and she sighed sadly at the thought of her younger brother. “Anyway, now that you’re awake, I need to get Jeremie. He has questions for you.” Yumi left the aravel.

Jeremie appeared moments later, and he sat on the bed across from Dhaune. He was shadowed by Ulrich, who leaned against the opening of the aravel, as so to act as back-up in case Dhaune attacked Jeremie. “So, Laura told me your name is Dhaune, right?” Jeremie stated.

“Yes,” Dhaune said, sitting up to face him. Though the wound was gone, the pain remained.

“Where are you from? What did Xana say she was going to do to you?” The Wise Man asked.

“I was in Maera when I ran. The Matron Mother… she had an Overseer drag me into the temple to the Destruction Mother, where she planned to sacrifice me to learn your location. I managed to escape, and I found your camp.”

Ulrich wasn’t convinced. “Maera is almost twelve days from here. Are we supposed to believe you’ve been running for twelve days and only found one camp—ours?” He questioned. “You didn’t find a town or a group of Rangers?”

Dhaune seemed hurt. “Of course I tried to gain entrance to Narza, but they aren’t letting drow inside their gates.” She explained.

Jeremie shrugged at the Mercenary, and he turned his attention to Dhaune again. “Do you think Xana will be able to locate you, even if she didn’t complete the ritual?” He asked.

She hesitated. “I don’t know. Xana is a blood magician, so I wouldn’t put it past her to look into my dreams.” She admitted as Aelita entered with a plate.

“Gods, I hate blood magic. Is there any better example of the depravity that a person can reach?” Jeremie asked rhetorically.

Aelita smiled weakly, almost forced. “How about a possessed person?” She offered.

The Wise Man shrugged. “I don’t know. Up until recently, I would have argued with you that a person cannot truly be possessed, but I think I’ve changed my mind.”

The Outcast approached Dhaune. “Anyway, Dhaune, I’ve brought you dinner. We’re nowhere close to a village, so you’ll be with us for at least a couple of days. Better keep your strength up.” She said, and then she looked back to Jeremie. “Anyway, lethallin, I think that I’ll take first watch tonight.”

Ulrich seemed surprised. “Are you sure, kitten? It is my turn, after all.”

Aelita sighed. “Yes, I’m sure. I have a lot of things on my mind.”

 

Dhaune had been allowed to sleep in the aravel, unlike the others, who resigned to their respective tents. She was sleeping peacefully until Xana approached her in her dreams. “Have they let you into their group yet?” Xana asked.

Dhaune bowed respectfully. “Yes, Matron Mother. The Mercenary is suspicious, but I feel that they are too preoccupied with settling their own differences to think much of me.”

Xana nodded. “Yes, this is good. Just make sure you prove yourself useful, or they’ll dump you at the nearest town.” She thought for a moment. “Actually, we may be able to use this mistrust. Do you think that you can fertilize the seeds of doubt further?”

“I would do anything for you, Matron Mother.” Dhaune agreed.

 

Aelita poked at the fire with the end of her staff. Unlike Laura’s wand, Aelita’s staff was long, a skull resting in the gap left but twisting wood and a blade formed at the end. The staff was called Erahalam, roughly meaning ‘the end of a dream’, though she called the skull Murray. It had been a gift from Edna, an elven magician whom Aelita had called ‘hahren’. She always had it with her; though it wasn’t often she carried it openly. She looked up at the stars, and she wondered if Edna was watching her.

The Outcast jumped when she heard someone stir behind her, but it was simply Dhaune. “By the Creation Father, Dhaune. Don’t sneak up on me like that; I almost attacked you.”

Dhaune laughed half-heartedly. “It would be the second time today.” She said. “I noticed that you are a wilder. Why are you travelling with a group of shemlen and not your clan?”

“My clan is gone. I do not know where they are, though my hahren… is dead.” She looked back to the stars. “I am travelling with these humans willingly.” She clarified.

“Willingly… for now,” Dhaune stood and went back to the aravel, and Aelita seemed shaken by the words.

Laura appeared from her tent. “Oh, Aelita. I expected to find Ulrich. Anyway, you can go to bed. I’ll take over watch.”

Aelita stood quickly. “Yes, perhaps you should.”

 

2nd of Solis

“We may be able to reached Bryhill by tonight if we take a shortcut over the plains here,” Odd said the next morning as he and Jeremie looked over the map. Jeremie argued, despite Odd usually having a good idea of where they were. The argument stopped when they heard a nearby roar, and heavy footsteps.

Jeremie looked at Odd with an almost uninterested look upon his face. “Odd, are we near a bridge?”

“I think so, yes,” The Scout said. “Why?”

Jeremie stood. “Because that sounds an awful lot like a troll,”

The troll approached, about twice William’s size. It had green skin with bumps and calluses, and it was covered with moss. This confused Jeremie, as he’d read about trolls and only those who had been stationary for many years grew moss on their bodies. In any case, there was no way the teenagers would be able to stop such a monstrosity, and they stood to run away.

Dhaune realized what she had to do. She had a mediocre knowledge of illusion magic, and while it wouldn’t get the Heroes to trust her, it would be enough to fool such a stupid monster as a troll. The troll roared in her face, and Dhaune created a calming blue aura. After a few minutes, the troll blinked, and it stomped away to look for food elsewhere. She sighed, almost convinced that her spell had failed. She turned to look at the Heroes, and she saw approving looks on their faces. She was in.

Eventually, Jeremie decided to follow Odd’s advice, and they arrived at Bryhill in time to get dinner at a local tavern. Along the way, Dhaune had spoken to each of the Heroes, and had planted seeds of mistrust in their minds. It had been done easily for some—Ulrich and William, as well as Laura and Aelita, and to a smaller extent Odd and Jeremie—though others were harder. In any case, Dhaune seemed the least suspicious member of the eight. She sat quietly and enjoyed her handiwork.

“You have a grasp of magic I’d never have expected to see in a knife-ear, Aelita,” Laura said, carefully drinking from the goblet that she’d been offered.

“I wish I could say that I believed that, you wine-soaked Imperialist.” The Outcast spat. “I’ll bet that you’d be happier to see me in irons than casting spells!” Aelita reached over the table and struck the bottom of Laura’s goblet, spilling its contents onto the princess’s shirt.

“William, I think that you need to take it easy on the battlefield,” Ulrich advised. “You’ll wear yourself out if you keep on fighting like you do, and I don’t want to be the one hauling you into the aravel on my back.” Ulrich chuckled.

The Vanguard scoffed. “It’s more likely that I’d haul you back, Ulrich. You aren’t exactly the most durable of fighters.” He gathered gravy onto his spoon and threatened to fling it at the Mercenary.

Odd looked smugly at Jeremie. “And, once again, my path has given us a safer, shorter route to where we’re going. Why do you even carry the map, Jeremie?” He asked.

“Because if you carry the map, you’re likely to sell it for a quick fix of poppy and a prostitute,” The Wise Man said.

Yumi looked over to Dhaune with a grim expression. “We don’t normally fight like this. Today is an off-day.” She said.

Dhaune shrugged. “And the start of many more to come, it seems like.”


	8. Summer 8

Episode 8: the Illusion

10th of Solis

Dhaune had been with the Heroes for ten days now, and she had collected a lot of information on them. She didn’t know how much of it Xana could use, but she recorded it all in her mind. She had recorded their fighting styles, for one. Yumi, Ulrich and William were more forward with their attacks, whereas Laura, Aelita and Odd tried to stay away from direct fighting, as they were better for ranged combat. Jeremie tried to stay out of the combat as much as he could, since he truly had no skill for it. He tended to give orders to the others, including Dhaune, whom he used to confuse the constructs.

Dhaune also studied their interactions more closely, especially since she had planted seeds of mistrust inside of their minds. It was interesting to watch—Laura and Aelita had apparently hated each other ever since they’d met, and after Dhaune had lied to Laura, having told the Fair that Aelita had said she’d belonged to a group of freedom fighters intent of assassinating the King to restore Elvhenan, the two could barely stand to look at one another, which had crippled what little cooperation had existed between them. William and Ulrich were rivals, and all it had taken was a lie about drow mating habits to stifle their relationship. Dhaune reminded Jeremie of Odd’s past ‘companions’, and while at first the Wise Man didn’t seem to mind, he changed his mind after the slave had lied about a look the Scout had given the Outcast.

Yumi was different. She was close with many of the group, even Jeremie and Aelita, whom she had only known for a short time. The slave had tried telling the Colonist that Ulrich had claimed to be the best martial artist in Capital Lyoko, and she’d only laughed and said that Ulrich had always been that way. She’d even tried saying that Aelita had said the Nihonjin culture was afraid of magic, and Yumi agreed, and even admitted that the Nihonjin feared things that were considered ‘non-magical gifts’ in Lyoko, like telekinesis. Dhaune actually admired Yumi’s confidence in her friends.

In fact, Dhaune admired many things in Yumi. She was beautiful, strong and talented, as well as very knowledgeable of both Lyoko and Nippon cultures. This was not mentioning Yumi had wanted to help Dhaune from the start.

With some help from Laura, Dhaune had improved her illusion magic. She hoped this meant that the Fair trusted her. She also hoped this meant she could use her illusion magic on the teens without them becoming suspicious.

She got her chance when Jeremie asked Dhaune and Aelita to go down to a nearby river to bring back water. Aelita had been all too willing to help Jeremie, though even Dhaune knew that if Laura had asked her, or even William (whom Dhaune had convinced her wanted to help Laura destroy the remaining wilder elves), she would have shouted that she wasn’t her slave.

“So… Dhaune, what do you think of Jeremie?” Aelita asked, not so discreetly. Oh, it was painfully obvious to Dhaune that Aelita had a crush on Jeremie. It was an easily exploitable trait.

She shook her head. “I don’t really think anything of him, except that he’s our leader and I respect him.” She grinned. “Why? What do you think of him?”

The Outcast blushed. “I—I think of him in the same way. As our leader, I mean. And that I respect him. And… just between you and me…” Aelita blushed harder and spoke partly into her hand. “I also think he’s really cute!”

Dhaune pretended she didn’t know what Aelita meant. “For a shem, you mean,” She said, her words harsh but not bitter.

Aelita recoiled. “No, not like that! You make it sound so condescending.” She looked down to the river, which was clear and swift. It was also bitterly cold, turning Aelita’s fingers blue as she filled the pot.

Dhaune filled her pot as well. “But you are one of the People. Aren’t there rules about mating with shemlen?” While she did this, she created an invisible aura of sadness and broken heartedness.

The Outcast’s shoulders sank along with her heart. “I’m not sure, but…” She looked back to the river. Had Edna spoken to her about rules like that? She could almost hear her hahren in her mind, scolding her for watching a cute human boy her age play soldier with his friends. Aelita could feel the shame that rose in her cheeks as Edna talked to her about purity of race. But all of these memories were hazy. She shrugged it off as her mind trying to keep Edna’s image as pure as possible out of respect for the dead. “I can’t help the way I feel.”

“Are you sure he feels the same way?” Dhaune asked, continuing to project her aura. “After all, you’ve seen the way Laura looks at him. Human marriages aren’t usually arranged for love, are they? And you’ve seen firsthand how they treat our kind. What makes you think Jeremie is different? What makes you think he cares about you as more than a pawn in a dangerous game of strategy?”

Aelita remembered clearly Jeremie writing off the elven culture as strange and incomprehensible. In all the time she’d known him—which was only a month in two days—he’d never asked her about her culture, or about her clan, or even about her vallaslin—what he so humanly called ‘markings.’ Did Jeremie not care about her in the same way she cared for him? Did he harbor those same racist feelings that made her hate Laura?

The elves went back to camp, where Jeremie smiled at Aelita warmly. She hung her head and refused to look him in the eye. Confused, Jeremie looked to Dhaune. “Do you know if something is bothering her?” He asked.

“Aelita? Oh, no, she just found out that you have a crush on her, and that’s awkward because the People forbid their women from lying with human men.” Dhaune explained.

Jeremie’s face turned pink when she said that he had a crush on Aelita, and an even darker shade when she brought up the forbidden love. “I—I don’t want to lie with her,” He said, unable to meet the slave’s eyes as she created an aura of anger. “I just want… to get to know her…” The aura started to take hold. “How did she find out?” He asked.

Dhaune had actually heard Jeremie talking in his sleep when she was going through Ulrich’s tent to find something she could use against him, but that wouldn’t work to create mistrust among the Heroes. “She said that she overheard Ulrich talking to Odd about how you talk in your sleep.” It was a plausible lie. Ulrich was a light sleeper, and he told Odd just about everything.

Jeremie glared over his shoulder at the Mercenary, and then stormed off. Dhaune faked a smile at him, one that almost looked sympathetic. In truth, Ulrich was probably her least favorite member of the group, if only because he was suspicious of her. They avoided each other most of the time, except when creating doubt about William. It was far easier to feed mistrust already there than to create it.

Dhaune found Yumi, and wanted to test a different kind of illusion. It would still cause subversion, so Xana would not mind, but it wasn’t a dark spell. Not entirely, anyway. “Hello, Yumi. I wanted to thank you for yesterday.” The day before, they had been waiting for Jeremie and Laura to convince the mayor of a small town to increase fortifications and train their guards better when a group of boys started barking at Dhaune as a way of saying she was ugly. Yumi had shouted at them, and it was then that Dhaune accepted her crush on Yumi.

The fact she had a crush on Yumi was not a surprise for Dhaune. She’d known for many years that she was a lesbian, though she’d never had a chance to act upon her feelings due to the generally held belief that she wasn’t attractive—had she possessed red eyes and white hair, or even if her skin wasn’t blotched, it may have been a different story.

Yumi smiled. As far as she knew, Dhaune was an insecure girl who saw Yumi as an older sister, or a close friend. It was almost as if Yumi didn’t know how attractive she really was. “Oh, don’t think anything of it, Dhaune. Really, I only did what was right.” The Colonist said.

Dhaune shook her head. “But you didn’t have to, and that’s why I’m thanking you. Come on, Yumi, at least let me make you… tea or something!” She realized then that Yumi probably didn’t drink tea.

Yumi tried not to take it personally and said, “No, really, that’s okay.”

Dhaune smiled. “Please?”

“Well… okay.” Yumi smiled, and Dhaune grabbed a kettle from the aravel. She prepared tea over the fire, and enchanted the tea leaves. The slave really only knew how to make dark elf teas, which often involved ingredients found underground. This would be a fact that Dhaune would leave out when she presented it to the Colonist.

Yumi drank tea with her family, and she tried to hold back a cough that came from this particular concoction. Nevertheless she smiled and drank it, though the more she did the lighter her head felt. She shook her head, holding it in her hands. “Yumi! Are you alright?” Dhaune asked, concern honest in her voice.

She looked up at the dark elf, her vision blurry for a moment. Then, a strange and new feeling gathered in her throat. She looked away, her face turning pink. “Have…. Have I ever told you I like the way you wear your hair?” Yumi said suddenly, her vision clearing but everything around her looking awfully pink.

Dhaune was honestly taken aback, almost forgetting it was the tea and not truly Yumi. But there was such honesty in Yumi’s eyes—was Yumi complimenting her because of the spell, or was she trying to ignore that feeling Dhaune already felt. “My… hair?” Dhaune asked. “No, you haven’t. Thank you.”

Yumi smiled. “It’s very pretty, and it suits you. And I like that it is simple, not like the hairstyles some women wear in Nippon. Have you seen them? They take hours to do properly, and you have to sleep with a board under your neck to keep them perfect.” She shook her head again. “But here I am, rambling. I was just trying to give you a compliment.”

“I don’t mind your rambling,”

 

12th of Solis

Ulrich watched as Yumi sat next to Dhaune at dinner, and as they chatted quietly to themselves. William seemed to notice it too, but didn’t glare like the Mercenary did. He leaned over to ask Jeremie, “Have you noticed anything abnormal about Yumi recently?”

Jeremie got up and moved away from him. “I don’t want to talk to you, Ulrich.” He said.

Confused, Ulrich shook his head. Odd sat down next to him, and Aelita sat on his other side. “Shouldn’t you go sit next to Jeremie, kitten? I thought the two of you were friends.”

Aelita hung her head. “I don’t really think he likes me. I think he’s just being nice to me because he thinks that I’m important in his game.” She said sadly.

“Aelita, that’s crazy. He’s crazy about you!” Odd said.

Aelita simply shrugged and picked at her plate. Ulrich looked back at Yumi and Dhaune, who were giggling. “Have you noticed anything strange about Yumi?” The Mercenary asked, not taking his eyes of the two girls.

Odd agreed, “Yeah, she has been a little distant, hasn’t she? She and Dhaune must be close, and I mean really close.” There was insinuation in his voice.

“What are you saying, Odd?” Ulrich demanded.

“I’m just saying that maybe Yumi and Dhaune are… lovers. Or soon will be.” Odd explained.

Ulrich’s eyes widened. “You don’t really think that, do you, Odd?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“I’ve known you for thirteen years. If I had a problem with that, you of all people would know.”

“That isn’t what I meant—however appreciated,” Odd crossed his legs, and before he explained, he asked Aelita if she was going to finish her food. She handed him her plate. “I’m just saying that you’ve denied having a crush on Yumi for so long, I almost began to believe it. Since Yumi isn’t in a relationship with you, you can’t really comment on it, can you?”

It wasn’t that Yumi was in a relationship with Dhaune that bothered him, but the time frame in which it happened. Dhaune had been travelling with the Heroes for twelve days, and it seemed that Odd was right in his idea that they were soon to be lovers. Ulrich and Yumi had known each other for years, and in all that time, she’d never rushed into a relationship. This was out of character for her.

 

13th of Solis

Dhaune woke Yumi before sunrise, much to the Colonist’s annoyance. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” She mumbled sleepily.

“Come on, Yumi. Get ready. I want to go into town before all the commotion starts, but we need to sneak out of camp after I wake William for his watch.” Dhaune explained, and she left the tent. Yumi reluctantly rose, dressing quickly and sneaking around the aravel to wait for Dhaune. The dark elf joined her, and they snuck away.

 

It was a loud start to the day as Jeremie and Ulrich began fighting over virtually nothing. It was a heated argument, complete with insults and curse words. But it wasn’t out of the ordinary since Dhaune arrived until they tried to justify their anger. Ulrich shouted that Jeremie wanted to use Aelita, and was angry just as a protective older brother would be. Jeremie shouted that Ulrich had been sharing Jeremie’s secrets with Odd. Both protested that they had never said or done what they were accused of, and demanded to know who had lied to the other. Only one name came back—Dhaune. There was an awkward pause. “Ulrich, do you see a common denominator here?” Jeremie asked with his eyebrows furrowed in anger. When the Mercenary nodded, the Wise Man turned to the others in the party. “Has Dhaune told any of you things about us?”

William spoke up. “She said that Ulrich planned to buy Yumi off of her parents rather than court her properly.”

Ulrich was shocked. “What? That’s ridiculous!” But it was suspicious, surely. “She also said that you planned to use her once and throw her away because that was how drow mating habits worked.”

The Vanguard shook his head. “No, that isn’t true.”

Laura looked at Aelita. “She said that you were part of a group that wanted to murder me and my father to put into motion a war that would restore Elvhenan,” She said.

Aelita clearly was not impressed by this, as she crossed her arms and spoke almost monotone. “Laura, use your head. There are thrice as many humans as elves, including those in cities. The elvhen would perish in such a war. Groups that want a war like that exist, but only in Arlathan, and they aren’t usually allowed outside the city walls.” She explained. She uncrossed her arms. “She implied that you wanted to see me in slavery again.”

“Believe it or not, Aelita, I am firmly against slavery.” Laura rolled her eyes.

Odd looked around at the group. “Has Dhaune tried to turn us against each other?” He asked.

Jeremie looked at him. “It would seem so,” He said. “The question is, but why?”

William walked over to Yumi’s tent. “She and Yumi are close. Maybe Yumi knows something we don’t.” He opened the flap, and with a sigh, he said, “She isn’t here!”

“What about Dhaune? Are they both gone?” Ulrich asked. Odd ran over to the aravel and nodded. “Shit! What if they ran away together?”

Jeremie grinned. “I can find out where Yumi is, at least.”

Aelita looked at the others. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions. Maybe Yumi found out before we did and gave chase to Dhaune,” She said hopefully.

Jeremie closed his eyes and pictured Yumi, her eyes when they had last spoken. After a few moments, his eyes snapped open and he covered his mouth with his hand, and then he held his forehead in his hand. “I just saw something I shouldn’t have seen,” He muttered quietly.

William laughed. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t think Yumi would ever forgive me if I said,” Jeremie murmured. “Anyway, they’re in town. If we hurry, we may be able to catch them.”

 

Dhaune and Yumi sat in the tavern, laughing. “This has been so much fun! I don’t remember ever smiling this much.” Dhaune said, smiling amorously at Yumi.

Yumi opened her mouth to say something when Ulrich and Laura entered the tavern and approached them. Laura grabbed Dhaune’s tunic, which had been graciously repaired by Aelita several days ago, and Ulrich grabbed Yumi. “Can we talk to you ladies for a minute?” Ulrich spat.

Yumi tossed a few copper pieces on the table, and they left the tavern. Ulrich and Laura didn’t let them stop until they were outside of town, where the others waited. “Dhaune, I think you had better explain yourself,” William hissed.

Dhaune realized her plan had come undone. “I—I don’t know what you mean,” She lied.

“You’ve been spreading lies about us, Dhaune!” Jeremie shouted. “Why would you do that? Even after we helped you? We trusted you!”

Ulrich pushed Dhaune. “Who are you working for? Who hired you to tear us apart from the inside?” He demanded.

Yumi pushed Ulrich. “Don’t push her, Ulrich! I’m sure this is just a huge misunderstanding!”

Laura shook her head. “This isn’t a misunderstanding, Yumi! Dhaune has been talking about us behind our backs, and you’re the only one who didn’t hear something!” Accusingly, she asked, “Did you have something to do with her plan?”

“What plan, Your Highness? I cannot believe Dhaune to be so malicious!” Yumi said.

Jeremie looked at Aelita. “Maybe Yumi is possessed?” He offered.

The Outcast shook her head. “Not possessed.” She said, and she walked over to the Colonist and examined her eyes. “But… charmed is more likely.”

Yumi pushed Aelita away. “I’m not under any spell! I love Dhaune, and you’re all jumping to conclusions.”

“Thank you, Yumi,” Dhaune smiled.

“Yes, thank you, Yumi,” A voice echoed Dhaune’s, and the group jumped at this. Smoke traveled along the tree branches, and it collected in the form of a woman. She had skin the color of blue ash, and her eyes were yellow, but cold like amber. Jeremie recognized them as the eyes from the nightmare that had started it all. Her hair was as white as snow, and the black markings on her face came down from her eyes, her lips and a dot between her eyebrows. Aelita identified the markings of meaning ‘fen’asha’ or ‘wolf woman’.

No one but Dhaune knew her, but the slave was the most surprised. “Matron Mother!” She exclaimed. Dhaune fell to her knees in reverence. “I am sorry that I failed you, Matron Mother.” She apologized.

Xana laughed. “On the contrary, Dhaune. You did very well until now.” She continued to praise her. “And it was brilliant of you to seduce the Colonist. How easily the secrets of friends come out when a human is in love.” She laughed coldly.

Yumi felt her heart break into a hundred pieces. “…Dhaune? Please tell me she’s lying.”

Dhaune looked up slowly. “I love you, Yumi. I didn’t mean for it to end like this, emma lath.” She said, unable to lie anymore, unable to admit her treachery. How easily the lies had come when they trusted her, but now that they knew, she felt as small as she’d ever been. She stood, and in a last effort to keep Yumi to herself, she came up with an idea. “Please, come with us! We’ll treat you better than any human ever could. Slaves will wait on you hand and foot. You can even see your brother again!” Dhaune begged her lover, as if luxury could make up for what she had done.

Yumi backed away, and angrily, she drew her Tessen fan and threw it. Dhaune was enveloped in smoke before it struck her, and she reappeared at Xana’s side. “You heartless bitch! I trusted you, and you used me! You used all of us!” Yumi shouted as the spell faded. But her words were still hurt like the betrayal of a lover, and Dhaune realized the spell had worked so well because Yumi’s feelings were secretly there, too. The guilt was like a vile, black weight.

The Heroes prepared to attack the drow, but in a burst of smoke, they were gone. Yumi started crying, out of frustration and because she felt like she was dying of something worse than death—betrayal.

 

Dhaune held in her hands on thing Yumi had given to her—a perfect river stone, worn down into the shape of a koi fish. It was smooth and cool, and as Xana entered Dhaune’s new chambers, she hid it under her pillow. “I trust that the slaves were effective in preparing this room for the new general of my armies?” Xana said, pride in her voice.

“Yes, Matron Mother. I am very content here.” Dhaune said as she tried to hide her sadness.

“Good,” Xana smiled. “Oh, and bravo on your performance topside. I believe that the Colonist may never recover.” She waved good-bye.

Dhaune hung her head in shame. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, and she’d never felt uglier. She grabbed the river stone and threw it as hard as she could, shattering the mirror like Yumi’s heart. She wouldn’t cry—no, crying was weakness. The general stood, and she called for an Overseer. “Fetch Hiroki Ishiyama. I wish him to be my personal servant, and no one is to lay a hand on him—do I make myself clear?” The Overseer agreed, and went to find the boy-slave. This was probably the only kindness Dhaune could afford to give.


	9. Summer 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially the chapter in which Lost Lantean begins as beta reader. Again, find him here: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2106140/

Episode 9: Moonborn

21st of Solis

"We're about ten days from the city of Kadic." Jeremie announced that morning at breakfast. Kadic was the largest non-port city, and also had the highest collection of magistrates, who hunted blood magicians and those who were possessed by demons. "I'm hoping that we can get there without Xana turning her eye on us. We've been lucky these past few days." He said. The Wise Man was correct—they hadn't seen any of Xana's constructs since Dhaune had been revealed to be a traitor.

Laura sat up. "She probably thinks that we're too busy tearing each other apart,"

It hadn't been directed at the Colonist, but Yumi still visibly grew angry. "I swear to the gods, Dhaune will pay for what she has done." She hissed. Yumi was still beating herself up over Dhaune's treachery, even though it had happened eight days ago.

Aelita placed her hand on Yumi's shoulder. "It wasn't just you who was fooled by Dhaune, lethallan. We all were—"

Just then, Odd came out of the woods, carrying several birds and part of a deer in his hands. "Good morning, everybody!" He said cheerily, with not a hint of shame in his voice, "I think I've got enough food to keep us fat for days!"

Ulrich wasn't impressed. "You left your post last night, Odd. Where did you go?" He demanded.

"Don't be such a hard ass, Ulrich," Odd replied lightheartedly as he moved towards the aravel. "I just went hunting. We have to eat, you know, and we're nowhere close to a town."

William looked at him strangely, but still helped him get the food inside of the aravel. "But didn't you go hunting yesterday? And the night before…"

Laura crossed her arms. "In fact, you've been hunting every night this week." She cocked her head to the side. "What's going on, Odd?"

Odd raised his arms defensively. "Nothing is going on!" He denied.

None of the Heroes were convinced of this answer, but it was obvious that they would get nothing further out of him. They packed up the camp, and proceeded to travel down the road. Lyoko truly was beautiful, especially in this forest. But when travelling through the forest there were risks such as orc raiders and bandits, as well as more mundane problems.

Aelita lifted up her foot to examine it. "Ugh, I think I stepped in something." She complained.

Yumi laughed. "Aelita, I keep telling you to get yourself a good pair of boots! Like mine, for example." Yumi motioned to her thigh-high boots, which were steel-toed. She called them 'fashionable and functional.'

The Outcast didn't seem to see it that way. "Oh, Yumi, I could never wear boots like yours! I'd get lost in them! I keep dropping stones in them, and they take forever to reach the bottom!" She sounded honestly distressed.

Yumi opened her mouth to reply, but what Aelita had said stopped her, and she thought for a moment. "Wait. Is that the reason I've been finding pebbles in my boots?"

Aelita jumped a little. "No!" She said quickly. She looked forward and searched for anything to change the subject. "Jeremie, you have a hole in the back of your shirt."

Jeremie sighed. "I know, but I can't mend it." Before she could ask, he explained, "Whenever I try to, I pick up too much fabric and the shirt puckers and hangs strange afterwards."

Aelita ran over to the side of the aravel and struggled to jump onto the shelf with a knapsack. She grabbed a needle and thread. "I can mend it for you. We don't even need to stop." She started to med the shirt as they were walking.

Laura looked at her skeptically. "You know how to sew?"

The Outcast glared at the Fair. "Why do you say that, Laura? Why can't I have practical skills?" She demanded.

"Ow! Aelita, don't forget that I'm still in this shirt!" Jeremie reminded her when she accidently stabbed him with the sewing needle.

"Sorry," Aelita replied a bit sheepishly.

Laura simply shook her head before turning to Ulrich. "You look awfully grumpy, Ulrich." She teased.

Odd spoke up. "He's always grumpy. I call him Ulrich the Grouch,"

"Is there any reason I should smile? After I realized Odd left his post last night I had to cover a double shift. I'm exhausted." Ulrich glared at Odd. "Don't think I've forgotten that. You owe me big time, Della-Robbia."

William laughed. "The two of you sound like an old married couple. More specifically, my grandparents."

 

Several hours later, the sun was going down and all of the Heroes had gone off to bed with the exception of Jeremie, who had volunteered for first watch. He sat by the fire with his book, studying battle strategies and ways to improve his telepathic connection with the other Heroes. He looked up as Odd tried to sneak out of his tent. "Odd! Where are you going?" Jeremie asked.

Odd stopped dead in his tracks. "I was just going to go hunting."

Jeremie shook his head. "Are you out of your mind, Odd? You've been hunting every night this week. If we carry any more meat with us, not only will we attract drow constructs but wolves and other predators! Go back to bed," He shook his head as Odd rolled his eyes and reentered the tent.

 

The teens were awoken suddenly by the sound of Laura's scream. They all scrambled out of their tents, and they too screamed when the saw a monster holding the princess, who had been keeping watch, in its mouth. It was nearly six feet tall, with long fingers and paws, as well as mangy dark fur. It had a long snout and white whiskers. It dropped the Fair when it saw that the Heroes were watching, and stared at them with orange eyes.

The teenagers were face to face with a werewolf.

"Werewolf! Kill the monster!" Jeremie ordered, and the teens drew their weapons. The Wise Man waited for Yumi and Ulrich to draw the beast's attention before dragging Laura to safety. "Are you alright?"

Laura nodded. "I'll be okay. I just need to heal my wounds." Jeremie nodded and tried to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "Jeremie, wait! I have to tell you something!" She hissed.

Jeremie pulled his arm away and drew his sword. "It'll have to wait, Your Highness. We can't let this monster hurt anyone else!" He said, and he ran to help the others.

William tried to slice off one of the monster's legs, but it was swifter and with one slice of its great arms sent the Vanguard across the camp. Yumi tried to take it down by knocking him off its feet with her bo staff, but it jumped and sent her reeling back with a swift kick to her abdomen. Ulrich was the first to engage the monster head on, and managed to slice at the werewolf several times before it knocked him out of the way too.

Aelita sent a boulder at it from behind, holding Erahalam in her hands. After dodging her missile the creature stalked towards her, and she used the staff to send electricity through the monster. It shrugged it off easily, and picked up the Outcast then threw her. She struck the side of the aravel and slumped down the side with a pained groan. The monster, seeing no further threat, started to leave, and Jeremie jumped on its back. The Wise Man slashed at the monster's chest and it grabbed him, throwing him back into the camp.

Laura, apparently done healing, ran to help, but cursed quietly upon her discovery that the monster was gone. She helped William, who was closest to her, stand, and healed the wound that resulted from the claws. "Thank you, Your Majesty. That… thing is unstoppable!" William said.

"Exactly. We cannot hope to stop that thing in its present form. We have to wait until the sun rises." Laura said, and the rest of the group walked towards them.

"Did any of you notice that the werewolf wasn't trying to hurt us?" Yumi asked, trying to work through the pain in her gut. "I mean, it wanted to get us out of the way, but it didn't go out of its way to kill us."

Jeremie shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We have to kill the thing before it kills someone." He looked around, "where is Odd? Don't tell me he slept through all this."

Ulrich ran to Odd's tent. "He's gone, and his clothes are all ripped up." He announced as he showed the others the remnants of Odd's clothes.

Laura seemed confused as she walked over to the Scout's tent. "The werewolf couldn't have gotten him. I spotted it as soon as it arrived." She said as she examined the ripped vest.

Aelita crossed her arms. "I think we all know that we cannot depend on your eyes, Laura." She looked away towards the path the werewolf took. "And now Odd has paid the price for it."

William looked to Aelita angrily. "Watch where you throw your accusations, wilder! You're speaking to your princess, after all."

"She is no princess of mine!" The Outcast protested.

Jeremie interrupted them. "We can discuss politics later! Right now, we have to find the werewolf!"

William searched around the campfire, and he found a clump of fur. "Look—the beast left fur. Maybe we can track it."

The Wise Man took the fur. "Odd's been training me in tracking. I may be able to find it."

The group headed into the woods, dousing the fire to prevent it from spreading. Jeremie directed them through the trees, and they eventually found the monster feeding on a bandit in the remains of an abandoned house which had apparently been destroyed by a dragon. The teens prepared to fight, but the creature sprinted off. Giving chase, they cornered the werewolf at the edge of a cliff.

The group pressed in on the landward sides of the trapped monster, confident that this engagement would go better than the last. The monster watched patiently but didn't fight the encircling teens. Instead it patiently bided its time, responding only aggressively enough to prevent the teens from pushing it over the edge. Increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress, William finally lost his temper and charged in recklessly, managing only to reach the edge and fall as the werewolf sidestepped. He would have plummeted to his death had the monster not turned, caught, and lifted him to safety.

Jeremie, seeing this, sheathed his blade. "Stand down!" He ordered, and he closed his eyes to visualize Odd in his head. Sure enough, Jeremie could see himself as well as the other Heroes inside of his head. "That werewolf isn't an unthinking monster! That's Odd!" The werewolf nodded and howled, shaking the leaves from its sheer volume. The teens relaxed, sheathing their blades, fans and staffs. Odd the Werewolf tugged on Jeremie's shirt. "What do you need?" The Wise Man asked in his head, directing it towards the Scout.

"Clothes. Mine ripped and the rest of my wardrobe is back at camp." The Scout explained. The Wise Man nodded, and went back to the abandoned house, searching through wardrobes until he found a change of clothes. When he returned with them, they all tried to get comfortable. They felt they could do nothing else but wait until sunrise.

Several hours later, Odd the Werewolf howled as he went through his painful transformation back into a boy. The girls turned as he returned to his true form, and he looked embarrassedly at the other boys. "Uh… so, who let the dogs out?" He asked sheepishly.

William was livid. "That's all you can say? 'Who let the dogs out?' We chased you halfway across this Creator-forsaken forest, and on top of that we were ready to kill you, and all you can say is 'who let the dogs out!?'" Odd laughed, but William kept shouting. "Oh boy, you had better tell us who let the dogs out, or you're going to find out who framed Roger Rabbit!"

Odd laughed, but he agreed to tell the story.

 

Thirteen-year-old Odd Della-Robbia carefully took aim at a deer, and with a deep breath in, fired his arrow. The arrow found its target, killing the deer instantly. Celebrating, Odd climbed down the tree, collected his game and started back towards Capital Lyoko. No doubt the humans would be impressed that such a small elf could take down a buck, but the elves would be impressed that an elf would be allowed to hunt at all.

Suddenly, Odd was being carried, and when he looked up, he saw a werewolf. Odd screamed, and he tried desperately to break free. However, the young boy was unable to reach his quiver, his bow or even his iron dagger. He tried to wiggle free, but the werewolf held him tighter, carrying him into a suspicious cavern.

Inside the cavern were many banners and standing lamps. A tall man with long platinum blond hair approached the werewolf, and just by looking at the man, Odd could see he was a vampire. He had high cheekbones and blood red eyes. Odd started to panic, fearful that the vampire would suck his blood, or worse, turn him into an undead creature of the night himself. Instead, the vampire held the boy's head in his palm, examining his neck and mulling something over inside his mind. "He won't survive the turning, I think. Did you find him starving in a gutter? He's so scrawny."

"I'm not scrawny; I'm svelte!" Odd protested, and regretted it immediately.

The hold of the werewolf grew tighter and its claws began to sink into Odd's flesh as the monster prepared for the master's response. Surprisingly the Vampire Lord cackled. "He has spirit. It is such a shame that he'd die before the venom turns him." The man sighed loudly, and waved the werewolf off. "Oh, just kill him. Dump his body in the woods or something. No one need know."

A female with long black hair approached the man. "Sir, maybe we could turn him into another lycan servant?" She suggested, "We could always use another watchdog to look over our coffins."

The man seemed impressed with her ingenuity. Calling the werewolf back, he bid it to follow him, and they entered the bowels of the cavern. The werewolf dropped Odd, who tried to escape. The raven-haired vampire blocked his exit. The man with platinum blond hair sliced open the arm of the werewolf, and he ordered the woman to drag Odd to the bowl full of blood. Together they forced the bowl past the lips and between the teeth of the teenager, holding his head back so that he was forced to swallow the coppery liquid or drown in it. Once it was down they dropped the gagging teen to the ground. His heart started beating faster, and his muscles began to swell as he underwent the first of many painful transitions.

Odd the Werewolf roared, running out of the cavern and looking for prey in the forest. Before the moon hid for the night, Odd killed a herd of deer and a hunter. His forbearer, the werewolf whose blood had been used to turn him, approached him that morning. His forbearer was not a wizened old man or a warrior under unfortunate circumstances but rather a beautiful young elven woman of Southern decent.

Not much was really known about the Uncharted South, mostly because it was uncharted, but also because the people there were supposedly frightening savages. However, this beautiful girl in front of him was neither frightening nor savage. Her skin was dark, and her hair was black except for the two red streaks in her bangs. "My name is Samantha Knight. I guess we'll be getting real close." She introduced herself.

They did indeed get close. Odd and Sam became lovers, and plotted their escape for two months, believing this would be an adequate amount of time to properly gain the Vampire Lord's trust. On the third full moon Odd spent as a werewolf, he and Sam slaughtered the entire coven. Odd had taken the Vampire Lord's brooch to prove to his family what he had done. Sam stayed in Capital Lyoko for a time, but the two had a falling out and hadn't spoken since.

Up until that fateful day three years later, Odd had skillfully hidden his beast form. He had to, or the magistrates would hound him like they would a blood magician. He kept the brooch with him as a reminder of his past, and a hope that it couldn't dictate his future.

 

Ulrich spoke up. "I remember Sam. She always was a little strange." He reminisced.

Aelita shuddered. "Poor thing! I can only imagine what being a slave to a vampire is like."

Odd shrugged. "Sam never spoke about her time as a werewolf to me. I mean, at all. I don't even know how or why she was turned, only that vampires historically have werewolf slaves to scare away hunters, collect blood and protect their coffins." He held the brooch in his hand, remembering the time he spent with Sam.

"Don't you want to be human again, Odd?" Laura asked, and when Aelita tried to argue that Odd wasn't entirely human anyway, she held up a finger to silence her.

"Do I want to be human again? No!" Odd said. "Did you see me as a werewolf? Not only am I in complete control during my transformations, but I'm also stronger and faster. Why would I give that up?"

Jeremie reasoned with him. "But aren't you worried you might lose control?"

"I've been undergoing transformations for three years now, Belpois. I'm totally in control." Odd reinforced the idea that he could control himself. He looked at William. "Well, that's the story on who let the dogs out. Are you satisfied, tall, dark and suspicious?" William huffed, and the Heroes laughed.


	10. Summer 10

Episode 10: Roses

27th of Solis

When compared with other villages the Heroes had visited, Heartwood was a bustling city, and it seemed like they'd arrived in the middle of a festival. The city was covered with ribbons and banners, many of which had stars painted on them, and a band played in the town square. Aelita pointed to a large tree on the east side of town, which she identified as a vhenadahl. This particular tree was covered in unlit lanterns, and the branches shaded the gate, over which hung a colorful banner, though the teenagers were too far away to read it. "This must be a very special holiday for the elves to take the time to decorate the vhenadahl." Aelita commented.

"I think the people of Heartwood will take any opportunity they can get to celebrate." Odd shrugged. He leaned back on his heels. "As the name suggests, they're in love with love. I wouldn't put it past them to be celebrating some preteen's first kiss."

Jeremie opened his book bag and read through his calendar. "No, tonight is a special celebration of the stars, I think." Reading a few more pages, he added, "It says here that the inhabitants of Heartwood have star charts that are so accurate they can predict when shooting stars will fall."

Aelita smiled. "The elves had a similar holiday, back in the days of Elvhenan." She looked back to the vhenadahl with a dreamy expression. "They said that if you were to watch the stars fall while sitting at the base of the vhenadahl, you were sure to find your one true love!"

Laura rolled her eyes. "There is nothing special about stars or shooting stars. They won't lead you to love, or treasure, or enlightenment." She said flatly, clearly not impressed.

William laughed. "Why so glum, Your Highness? Don't you believe in love?"

"Love in it of itself? Yes. That falling stars will lead you to someone you'll love for the rest of your life and never falter from? No." The Fair elaborated. It was a fairly grim outlook. "Anyway, we're only two days from Kadic now. We can't afford to stop anymore."

Yumi shook her head. "We haven't run into any of Xana's constructs, or any more of her agents. I don't see why we can't stop here." She rubbed a sore spot on her back. "Besides, I can't remember the last time I slept in a real bed."

"The rest of us can remember the last time you slept in a real bed," Odd muttered, and Yumi threatened to slap him.

Ulrich looked at Jeremie. "Yumi's right. We've been walking nonstop for days. We deserve a chance to rest."

Jeremie looked like he was about to disagree, but Odd motioned discreetly to Aelita. "You heard the elf. This is probably the most romantic holiday for the wilders." He murmured. Continuing in a low voice he added, "there are bound to be lots of fun things to do for two in Heartwood…" Jeremie considered this.

The Wise Man glanced quickly at the Outcast and then around the rest of the group and nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with Yumi and Ulrich."

Laura huffed, not at all discreetly. "Fine. Fine! Go gallivanting about this gods-forsaken city if that's what you want. Just know that with this romantic atmosphere, disaster is in the cards!" She spun around on her heel, and headed back to the aravel. "Do whatever you want, Jeremie."

William leaned in closer to Jeremie. "Go for it! Don't put up with her passive aggressive deer shit!" He then turned and followed Laura back to the aravel.

Yumi, Ulrich, Odd and Aelita looked anxiously at Jeremie. The Wise Man smiled. "I guess we're staying for the festival. But first things first—we have to warn the mayor that the dark elves are on the move." He declared. A small cheer escaped them.

 

As Jeremie went inside the town hall to speak to the mayor while Aelita, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi watched as the inhabitants of Heartwood set up the festival. Odd nudged Ulrich, and then subtly motioned towards Yumi. "Go on, man. Make your move." He pressured quietly.

Aelita nodded. "It's painfully obvious that you like her, Ulrich. There's no better time than now to ask her." She grinned. "Jeremie agreed to let us stay in the city for the festival, and if Xana has her way, this dry streak won't last long."

With Odd and Aelita pressuring him, Ulrich gathered his courage and turned to Yumi. "So, uh, Yumi. Since we've got the night off and everything, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe… go out with me?" He asked with a fire burning behind his cheeks. Nervous, he slammed his eyes shut, preparing for what he felt was his inevitable rejection.

Yumi smiled brightly. "I'd love to,"

Ulrich opened his eyes. "Say what?" He asked, and then smiled. "That's great!"

 

Dhaune watched as Xana planned her attacks against the northern colonies, hoping to box in the King, who had been confirmed to be taking refuge in Carthage. The former slave looked to the pool of holy water collected from the priestesses at the Temple of the Destruction Mother, and she walked over to it. She performed a simple spell Xana had shown her, and dunked her head into the water.

Opening her eyes, she could see Yumi, and she felt a painful weight in her heart grow heavier when she saw a smile on her former lover's face. That weight transformed into a raging fire when Dhaune observed the Mercenary approach Yumi and take her hand. Strange emotions filled the general. Had Yumi moved on so quickly? Why had she moved on to Ulrich? Was she trying to make Dhaune angry and jealous?

Dhaune pulled her head from the pool of water, knowing there was only one option. "Matron Mother?" She called.

Xana looked up, and she smiled at Dhaune. "Yes, General?"

"It would seem that the Colonist and the Mercenary are still travelling together. Do I have your permission to send constructs after them?" Dhaune asked, not letting on that she felt jealous and betrayed.

Xana cursed. "Yes, of course. Do whatever you have to do." She waved her off.

Dhaune bowed politely, and she left the war room, stopping to look at herself in the mirror. She'd put on weight after being promoted, and her leather armor showed off her newfound curves. Her blond hair was tied up in a bun. Her face, she noted harshly, was still nothing worth fawning over. The general went to the Overseer and ordered a group of monsters to target the brown-haired Hero, Ulrich Stern.

 

Aelita and Jeremy walked along one of the streets of Heartwood, admiring the decorations and talking quietly as they made their way to a tavern with open air seating. "…I find it very interesting that the inhabitants of Heartwood use the stars to tell time. I mean, I have charted stars, and they're always constant, but to dictate your calendar on stars? It really is peculiar." Jeremie said to Aelita as they sat down at a table.

Aelita sat up straighter. "You've charted stars? I wish I knew how to read star maps." She leaned forward. "The elves put a lot of stock into stars, too. We say our destinies are written among them, as well as other things."

Jeremie opened his mouth to say something when a human man walked by them. "Hey, blondie! What are you doing with a knife eared savage?" He shouted.

Aelita eyed him angrily. "Don't listen to him, Aelita. You're better than that." Jeremie warned her. She looked back to him with a smile, and she lifted her hand slightly off the table. The cobblestone street the man walked on encased his foot, and he struggled to escape. "Aelita! What are you doing?" Jeremie whispered a bit more harshly than intended. She turned away to continue watching the man. A cart rolled by with a barrel of water, and Aelita slammed her hand on the table. The cobblestone rippled and the cart bounced hard, spilling water onto the street. At the same time the cobblestone trap released the man in the middle of his latest effort to free his leg, sending him tumbling to the ground and straight into the newly created puddle of mud.

She started laughing, and Jeremie laughed too. The Outcast looked back to the Wise Man. "What were you saying, lethallin?"

 

Wanting to avoid the crowded city, Ulrich and Yumi sat at the edge of a lake on the Western Plains. They could still see Heartwood, and they could see the edge of the Scarwood Forest. "It's really hot right now. It'll probably be warm tonight too." Yumi said, watching the sky as the blue faded into pink and orange.

"Yeah, probably." Ulrich replied, watching her out of the corner of his eye. When she looked back at him, he swiftly pushed her into the lake. A short shriek ended with a large splash and Ulrich walked closer to the edge of the water laughing as Yumi surfaced. She surfaced and blew a wet strand of hair from her face, narrowing her eyes.

"So, that's how you want to play, huh?" She teased before yanking on Ulrich's leg. He landed beside her with a loud splash and came up only a moment later, spitting out the water he'd sucked in. Taking no pity on the boy, Yumi splashed warm water onto him, and he returned the favor. She pushed him under, and he pulled her leg out from under her, sending her back under. She came up for air a moment after Ulrich and, partially gasping and partially laughing, swam to the edge of the lake with Ulrich beside her.

With considerable effort, they pulled themselves with their sodden clothing out of the lake and came face to face with five of Xana's roaches. "Oh, not these things again! They're so creepy," She complained.

Ulrich looked to Yumi nervously. "I left my katanna back at the aravel. I didn't expect Xana to attack during a festival."

Yumi looked back at him. "So? Haven't you learned anything from our sparing contests?"

He frowned, and the two stood to face their attackers. With a nod between them, Ulrich ran one way, attracting the attention of the constructs and a second later Yumi maneuvered away to strike from behind. One of the roaches tried to fire its laser at Ulrich and he jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the pulse of destructive light as the extra weight robbed him of some strength. Racing towards it, he kicked the construct into the lake just before it could fire again. It sparked, and struggled a bit before it finally sank beneath the surface. "Yumi! They're weak to water!" He shouted as he continued to battle his wet clothing in the process of avoiding getting shot.

She nodded, and took a deep breath in. She focused her telekinesis on the water in the lake and created a large bubble, carefully maneuvering it over the constructs. She dropped it suddenly, mentally exhausted. The constructs looked like they were having seizures before they collapsed on the plains. Yumi also collapsed; falling to her knees, her head in immense pain.

Ulrich watched her go down and rushed to her side, pausing only to grab one of the monsters' corpses after hearing the mechanical noise of a crab construct and seeing it taking aim. He slid towards her, holding the construct in front of him and blocked the laser that had been aimed for Yumi. "Get up! We've got three crabs headed our way!" He ordered while scrambling back into a standing position. Yumi struggled to stand.

 

Odd climbed a tree to watch the sun set. He looked at Laura and William, who sat around the campfire. Laura had refused to allow Jeremie to bring the aravel into Heartwood, so it still remained hidden in the Scarwood Forest, near a cliff that overlooked the Western Plains. Their horse, Rorkal, grazed free, clearly happy to be free of the aravel. "How do you think their dates are going?" Odd shouted down from his perch, the silence driving him mad.

"It isn't a date," The other two said sharply and simultaneously. They looked quickly towards one another, surprised that they were on the same page.

Odd laughed loudly. "Oh, please! Those four are obviously crushing big time. I just can't believe the guys had the balls to ask them out." He tapped his chest. "I'm not saying that I didn't pressure them or anything. But still, it is rare when they listen to me."

Laura raised her shoulders in anger. "It's rare when they listen to you? Jeremie listens to you every time he reads a map! I'm the one no one listens to!" She clenched her fists. "Gods! I feel like a total Cassandra! Just you watch—something will go wrong tonight and it won't be long before I'm right about Aelita, too!" She covered her mouth in shock.

William sat up. "Why? Did you see something in the future regarding Aelita?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, not a vision, per se. Just a… feeling." She clarified. "I am just hesitant to believe that the elves can sense demons, and did you see the staff she carries? It has a skull on it, for Minerva's sake!"

Odd looked up to the sky. "She says she named it Murray."

"Who cares, Odd?" Laura asked.

William looked at Laura intently. "Do you think that we should be more cautious around her, Your Highness?"

"Yes, but don't make it too obvious. I'm still trying to figure out what she could be hiding." Laura advised.

The Scout suddenly sat up when he saw a flash on the horizon, and he jumped down from the tree. He ran to the edge of the cliff, and he searched the horizon. "There! I see some of Xana's constructs!" He shouted, running to grab his bow and quiver. "Quickly! We can't let them destroy the city!"

 

Dhaune walked through the labyrinthine passages of the Matron's estate, knowing exactly where she was going. She wondered how many times she would walk those halls before the Destructor claimed her soul.

Her head jerked up as Dhaune heard the familiar sound of Yumi's laugh, and she started paying more attention to her surroundings. She thought she saw Yumi run out into the courtyard, home to prickly subterranean bushes and glowing mushrooms. The iron gate to the back alleys creaked open, despite having been locked before. She bolted through the gate, giving chase to her intruder.

The general chased a ghost for at least an hour before realizing she'd run a complete circle, and had returned to the courtyard. This time, however, it was not empty. Hiroki sat, tending to the plants as he had been ordered. "Hiroki, come here." Dhaune ordered. Hiroki jumped up and ran to Dhaune. She fell to her knees and buried her face into his hair, holding him tightly. For a moment, she convinced herself she held Yumi, but such fantasies could only be indulged for so long. "Get back to work." She said sharply.

Hiroki was fed up with Dhaune's sudden mood changes. This hadn't been the first time she'd hugged him, only to dismiss him cruelly. "My sister is coming for me! She won't stand for this!" He shouted.

"I know that your sister is coming for you, Hiroki." Dhaune said as she walked inside. "And I will be here when she does."

 

Yumi, after dumping water on the roaches and managing to stand up, was only trying her best not to get hit. Despite the lingering tiredness and headache, it was far easier for her than she thought as the crabs seemed to have targeted Ulrich. He had managed to evade them mostly, but he, too, was tiring. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," He said, panting. One of the crabs fired a laser at him and while he dodged the laser, he wasn't able to dodge its leg, which struck him hard in the arm.

She threw one of her fans, but the crab moved out of its way easily. "Neither do I," She huffed. The crab knocked Yumi aside then turned away from her and joined the others in focusing their lasers on Ulrich. By this time, Ulrich had recovered enough to turn over and see his fate. Unable to dodge or block their attacks, he stood as still as a deer when face-to-face with a hunter. "No! Ulrich, run!" Yumi shouted. When he didn't move she closed her eyes, trying to fight through the exhaustion to tap her telekinesis again.

The center crab was hit with an arrow, stopping it from firing. The other two crabs still fired, striking Ulrich and sending him flying into the lake, writhing in pain. A second later a fireball incinerated the crab on the far left, and William sliced at the leg of the final crab to bring it down. He stabbed the symbol on the crab's head and it collapsed into a pile of sparking parts.

William ran to Yumi while Laura waded into the water and fished Ulrich out enough to inspect his wounds. "Some of your physical wounds aren't as bad as they could be." She said as she began to heal the laser burns, "I think your arm has been dislocated though, and your ankle may have been sprained too." She diagnosed. "I can't heal those kinds of wounds. We need to get you to the aravel where I can properly bandage you."

William helped Yumi to her feet. "What about you, Yumi? Are you hurt?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just tired." She said. "This was weird. It was like the monsters were specifically targeting Ulrich."

While William went to help Laura with Ulrich, Odd examined the crab he had shot. He snatched a piece of tattered fabric off of its leg. "Does this mean anything to you?" He asked the Colonist, throwing her the fabric.

She unwrapped it, and inside was a river stone in the shape of a koi fish. "Dhaune," She muttered, and she looked up. "Xana didn't send these monsters. Dhaune did."

Laura draped Ulrich's arm over her shoulder, and William supported his other side. "Are you sure, Yumi?"

She nodded. "I gave this stone to Dhaune. She sent this with the crabs because she wanted me to know who sent them." She didn't mention why Dhaune had done such a thing. They all knew. "Let's go back to the aravel. I don't want to look at this place anymore." Together they hobbled off and soon they were back at camp where Laura finished patching up Ulrich's arm. His ankle did not appear to be sprained, though it did ache. Yumi quietly asked Laura to leave so she could talk to Ulrich alone. "Some date, huh?" She asked, trying to keep her tone lighthearted.

"I couldn't have known that we would be ambushed by drow constructs." Ulrich said defensively, "If I had, I would've brought my katanna."

"This isn't about that, Ulrich!" She said sharply. "This is about Dhaune—look!" She showed him the river rock. "Dhaune sent those things there to kill you! Even if you had brought your katanna, we still would've been ambushed and we still would've been hurt!"

Ulrich huffed as he examined his arm. "It may not have ended so badly,"

Yumi folded her arms across her chest. "It may have ended worse!" She shouted. She shook her head. "I… didn't want to fight, Ulrich. I just came to tell you that we… can't do this."

He sat up straighter. "What do you mean, 'we can't do this'?" He demanded.

"Dhaune isn't just a slave anymore, Ulrich! She has power and influence!" The Colonist yelled. "She has to die before I can continue on with my life. And… that includes my love life. It's too dangerous to get close to me now." Yumi stood, not giving Ulrich a chance to reply. She walked out of the aravel, her heart carrying a thousand pound weight.

 

Night had finally fallen, and the stars were starting to appear. Jeremie and Aelita sat beneath the aravel, which after having its lanterns lit, now stood in the elven quarter of the city alone. Aelita cautiously moved closer to Jeremie, and he did the same. "Look! The first shooting star!" Aelita exclaimed, pointing to the silver streak that danced across the sky.

"You know, Aelita, humans often make wishes on shooting stars." Jeremie said.

"I didn't know that. Are you going to make a wish, Jeremie?" She asked.

He blushed, and looked up to the sky as another shooting star skated across the sky. He silently wished upon it, and smiled at Aelita. Aelita, being a wilder, made no wish on the falling star, but instead prayed to the Creator that they meant what she thought. She bit her lip and looked at Jeremie from the corner of her eye, even though he no longer watched her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and she wove her fingers into his.

It felt right.


	11. Summer 11

Episode 11: Kadic

1st of Ferventis

Seven teens walked the last of the long road to the city of Kadic. The outside edges of the group were defined by Yumi on one end and Ulrich on the other, each being careful to maintain as much distance as they could. In the cold space between them walked Odd and beside him, but slightly behind everyone, was the Fair princess, her wary gaze split between the road ahead and the pink haired elf that that was practically walking on air beside Jeremie. The Wise Man himself walked in sync with Aelita but his gait seemed much heavier and the whole group walked in an almost suffocating silence that seemed to have been building ever since leaving Heartwood.

Preoccupied by their own troubles they failed to notice the approach of a deformed man who at one point might have been an elf until he was too close for comfort. His arms and face were swollen with the flesh turned inside-out, his teeth stuck out in all directions, and his red eyes were surrounded in black scribbles, which reminded the Heroes of the Beyond. "This, Aelita, is what a possessed magician looks like," Laura said flatly, pointing to the monster before them.

Aelita glared at her. "I know what a possessed magician looks like." She growled.  
The possessed magician summoned a red light from its clawed fingers, and he slammed the light into the ground. It moved towards the group, cracking the earth and knocking the humans off their feet. William grabbed his sword and used it to lever himself up quickly while Aelita summoned and threw icicles at the monster from the ground. The possessed magician blocked the projectiles with his swollen arm and while it was distracted William took the opportunity to slice off the monster's arm. It stumbled backwards, now bleeding profusely. The blood mage summoned his arm, and sewed it back together like a ripped rag doll. "Oh, that's an image I didn't need," William cringed.

The humans took the opportunity to pull themselves to their feet while William stood by, seemingly paralyzed by the disgusting display. Having finished with his arm before the shell shocked teens were ready to fight, the possessed magician opened up his wrist and honed in on the blood. He was immediately cloaked in a fiery aura and he sliced at the air, leaving behind a trail of blood frozen in midair. He raised his arms, and all of the Heroes were lifted up off their feet, squirming in pain as their blood boiled inside of them.

They were trapped and the pain was turning into full blown agony as their skin showed the first signs of really being burned. Jeremy groaned, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he desperately reached for Aelita and Laura in a vain attempt to use his telepathy to ease their suffering. What they felt, when added to his own suffering, was too much for him and he screamed, severing the short but cooling brush with their minds. Aelita jerked her head towards the sound, losing the water based spell she was working on. Laura too was distracted and lost the magic she was building for an attack. She glared at Aelita, not believing that this was how and where she'd die.

They fell to the ground, landing heavily and panting but relieved to have been released from the blood magic. The fiery aura surrounding the monster vanished and he looked to his fingers in confusion then lower, to where a rapier had pierced his chest. He stumbled forward as the rapier was withdrawn, and the blade appeared again to decapitate the possessed magician. The beheaded corpse fell and began to twist back to its original form, revealing a man in heavy steel plate standing behind him. Over the plate was a thick black cloth embroidered with a white owl holding a spear. The man removed his helm, revealing not a wizened old man but a teenage boy with pleasant features, brown hair and blue eyes. "I'm glad I arrived in time," he said, walking towards the still shocked group. "We've been chasing him for months, and it seems he finally allowed his pet inside, if you understand what I mean. The magistrates will be pleased to learn that—Jeremie?"

Jeremie sighed as he pulled himself from the ground. "Hello, Patrick. It seems that the magistrates have finally accepted you. Congratulations," He said monotonously.

"Manners, Jeremie. Introduce us to your friend," Odd said, motioning to the teenage magistrate Jeremie had referred to as Patrick.

"Oh, fine." Jeremy huffed, "everyone, this is my cousin, Patrick Belpois. Patrick, these are my friends, Odd, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich, William and Laura." He stated while gesturing to each one in turn.

Patrick smiled. "Pleased to meet you!" He turned his attention back to Jeremie. "What are you doing here? Is Uncle Michael with you?"

"Capital Lyoko was attacked. Most of the citizens fled to Carthage. I hope that my dad was with them, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find him." Jeremie explained.

"Gods, I didn't know! I'm so sorry," The magistrate apologized.

Ulrich adjusted his arm in the sling. "No one knows. That's why we're on the road—to inform villages and cities to prepare for attacks."

Patrick looked to the Mercenary. "I see. Well, you'll probably need to stay in Kadic for a few days to resupply and spread the word. The mayor will want to see you, too, but getting an audience may take a while." He looked at the group. "Who are we fighting?"

Laura wore a somber expression. "The drow,"

He was confused. "I thought the dark elves were dormant."

"Well, they're back, and worse still, Xana Kenval is leading them." William added.

"Xana Kenval is the most famous blood magician of all time. I thought she was dead." Patrick shook his head. "No, I knew she was dead. She was defeated a century ago!"

Ulrich shrugged. "We don't much understand it either, but we've seen her."

The magistrate seemed unnerved, and responded urgently "We should prepare the magistrates. If Xana comes here, we must be ready for her." He motioned for the Heroes to follow him. "So, if I may ask, why are you delivering this message, and not the King's couriers?"

"My father was adamant that Capital Lyoko was safe. He didn't have time to send couriers." Laura explained. "I divined that we were the Heroes of the Warrior's prophecy, and we're working together to stop Xana."

"Then you are… Forgive me, Your Highness. I didn't recognize you." Patrick apologized.

She sighed. "How could you have? We've never met."

Yumi spoke up. "Sir Patrick, I would like to ask you about your work with the magistrates. More bluntly, what you do. I hear about your order all of the time, but I've never met a magistrate."

"We're non-magicians that hunt those that prey on mortals. You know—blood magicians, the possessed, werewolves, vampires and so on. The occasional dragon." Patrick explained.

Aelita crossed her arms. "They target elves because of our different beliefs on spirits. I have seen many elves accused of blood magic who were not even magicians, and the magistrates didn't hesitate to take them away."

Patrick wasn't offended and didn't back down from her accusing stare. "Many magistrates harbor prejudices and assumptions. In Kadic, the Knight Templar orders us to investigate before we attempt an arrest." He explained. "Every city that is large enough to have a magistrate outpost operates under a different Knight Templar. They can sometimes be corrupt," he finished with a shake of his head.

Laura eyed the Outcast. "What's wrong, knife ear? Do you have something to hide?"

Aelita glared at the Fair. "Forgive me if I am uneasy around the hands of my oppression."

Patrick looked at Jeremie. "They really don't get along, do they?"

"Don't get me started," Jeremie replied as they walked up to the house belonging to his aunt and uncle.

Going inside, Jeremie introduced his new friends to his aunt and Uncle much more cordially than he had to Patrick. Next, he explained the attack on capitol Lyoko as well as their journey to Kadic and its purpose. Having heard all they've been through, Jeremie's aunt and uncle agreed to put up the Heroes, although Aelita refused to stay inside the city limits. After trying to secure an answer from her, she said simply she preferred being in the wilderness to the stone walls of the city. It seemed plausible—when Aelita walked in the city, she constantly walked into things, and people. Laura was constantly teasing her about it, though it reminded Jeremie of the first time he saw her.

With the group having secured lodging and Aelita headed out of the city, Laura quickly found the city's archives and began studying tomes recorded in 1:10 Origin, when the people who would later settle Lyoko invaded Elvhenan. The invasion lasted for three years before the elves were enslaved, and she was trying to learn about the magics the elves had used.

Specifically, she was looking for anything that could be used to expose Aelita, but there was nothing. The ancients were more interested in subjugating the elves than recording their magic and history. She slammed the book closed and searched for a journal of a soldier, finding the diary of a medic. The medic spoke of the demons that the elves summoned, and the wandering thoughts that weighed whether or not it was worth it to take over a land filled with hostile savages and cliffs.

William, who was trying his best to help the princess, brought her a stack of books that were filled with ancient maps. The map showed Arlathan, as well as the place that would later become Capital Lyoko. There were also accounts of the Surface Wars of Aelita Fen'harel, who was said to use grey magic to turn her enemies against each other in combat. But nothing that was recorded could incriminate the Outcast. Frustrated, Laura slammed the books closed and stormed out.

 

Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd joined Patrick as he scribbled on parchment, writing out a full report on the death of the possessed magician. Patrick looked up briefly at his cousin and asked, "So what's going on between you and Aelita, Jeremie?"

"What makes you think that anything is going on?" Jeremie asked, crossing his arms.

Patrick laughed loudly, nearly spilling ink onto his parchment. "Oh, please. You were watching her all the way into the city." He pointed out.

Ulrich and Odd laughed, and Jeremie's cheeks turned bright red. "I wasn't watching her. I mean, I was. But, you saw how she is when she goes into a city. She trips over her own two feet." He lied. Sitting up straighter, he added, "I was just trying to make sure she didn't hurt herself."

"Certainly.", Odd replied sarcastically, "And tell me, Belpois; did her hips make it to Kadic safely?" Odd continued haughtily.

Jeremie tried to bury his head and the boys laughed. "I hate you. You're mean people." Jeremie announced.

"Oh, don't be so cranky, Jeremie. We're only teasing you." Ulrich said. He turned to Odd, "help me with this, would you," and asked while fiddling with the sling for the umpteenth time. He knew that he had to wear it, but did it have to be so uncomfortable? He wondered as Odd tried to help him put the cursed thing back on in a less annoying manor.

The Wise Man turned away from the duo and after a few moments became lost in his own thoughts. He went back to that night in heartwood and stared at his empty hand, remembering how her hand had felt in his. He was forced back to reality by Odd, who snapped his fingers in his face. "Medieuropa to Jeremie! Are you listening to me?" The Scout demanded. Jeremie admitted that he hadn't, and Odd repeated, "How are you going to show her that you care for her?"

He sat still for a moment. "I don't know what you mean." He said quietly. "I'm sure that she'll just know."

"No! No! Girls are creatures that seek confirmation! You have to show her!" Odd just about shouted. Jeremie opened his mouth to protest, but he held up a finger to silence him. "Don't argue. I have a lot of experience in the labyrinth of the heart. Have you considered getting her a gift?"

Patrick shooed Odd away from the table, as he'd begun to lean on it. "Be careful. You'll put your hand in ink if you aren't careful."

"I'm not sure what she'd like," Jeremie admitted.

"You'll think of something." Patrick said cheerfully, his optimism in stark contrast to Jeremie's realism. "You always do." Jeremie rolled his eyes at his cousin. "Now out with all of you," Patrick continued, "as amusing as this is I really need to finish this report."

Laura returned to the apartment and found Patrick still filling out paperwork. He peered up at her, and he explained, "Bureaucratic red tape at its finest," She watched him as he scribbled words on the parchment, and she paced back and forth. "Is something on your mind, Your Highness?"

"Have you heard about female elven magicians running from the magistrates?" Laura asked bluntly.

Patrick stopped writing. "Sure, lots of female elven magicians run from the magistrates. They don't want to be arrested." He said sassily. "I'll need you to be more specific."

"Okay… female elven magician, pink hair, green eyes, often accompanied by wilders?" Laura specified.

Patrick glared at her. "You want to know if Aelita is wanted by the magistrates." He said flatly. When she nodded, he asked, "If she was, why wouldn't I have arrested her on sight? Better yet, why didn't she attack me on sight?" Patrick shook his head. "You're paranoid. Not every elven magician practices blood magic."

Laura walked swiftly over to him and sat down. "But she can sense demons! She carries a staff with a skull on it!" She cried out.

"Lots of magicians carry staffs with skulls on them. They're typically old, powerful staffs, handed down through the generations." Patrick said. "And the elves have had magic longer than humans have. Humans only started using magic about three ages ago, and elves have been using magic since before recorded time. It makes sense that they have advanced magic, even after centuries of slavery."

"No! You don't believe me either!" Laura shouted. "Gods! She's going to stab us in the back and I'm the only one who will be prepared for it!"

Patrick sighed. "If you want, I'll observe her. But I'll observe you too. It isn't uncommon for magicians to frame others to hide their own crimes." He compromised.

"I assure you, I am not a blood magician." Laura said firmly.

"That's what they all say."

 

2nd of Ferventis

It had taken some effort, but the group had managed to convince Aelita to go into town. She was nervous for a while, but when Jeremie stood near her she grew less nervous and more distracted. She ran into two signposts and a man with a dog before they even reached the marketplace. For the remainder of the stroll she walked behind the rest of the group, trying to bury her shame.  
Patrick, at the behest of Laura, walked behind Aelita, trying to decipher from her walk and her conversation if she was corrupted. He saw no signs of it—she did not glow, her arms and hands were scar-free, and certainly she did not speak in a double voice. Her body was not deformed, nor did she levitate or threaten innocents. He could see no outward signs of corruption. This, of course, did not mean the corruption was not there, but if it was, she hid it well. Many blood magicians went crazy, as demons of all variety tried to possess them, though Aelita simply could've been very lucky.

Laura knew that Patrick was investigating, so an accurate conclusion was difficult to draw. She, too, showed no signs of corruption, but was that because she was not corrupted, or because she knew he was watching?

He listened carefully to Aelita's conversations with the others. "This city is so big and confusing!" She exclaimed to Ulrich as she watched the Kadic skyline. "How does anyone keep it all straight?" She asked.

"You get used to it," He shrugged, though he clearly regretted the decision. He grabbed his shoulder and cursed it.

She chuckled. "If not, I guess you end up like me; walking into signposts, utterly distracted." She said cheerily. No spiteful, vindictive behavior was evident in her voice, though she was cunning by her very nature. This could be a façade. Elves were difficult to accurately pinpoint, even though they were far more likely to turn. If he made an arrest, it would be without just cause, and even though she'd most likely go free, Jeremie would likely never forgive him. Their relationship was strange and strained as it was.

Patrick jumped as Odd slapped his back, and he nearly dropped his charcoal. "Gods, is every member of the Belpois family jumpy?" He laughed, and Patrick rolled his eyes. Odd playfully tried to grab Patrick's parchment, and the magistrate panicked, trying to keep it away from the Scout. After a moment's effort Odd grabbed the parchment anyway, and he studied the chicken scratches scribbled on it while the group moved off unaware that two members had stopped following. "Are… you studying Aelita?" He asked. "Jeremie won't like that you're studying his girlfriend. And wouldn't you rather study someone willing—like me, for instance?"

Patrick smirked briefly, but he snatched the parchment away. "It is my duty to do so." He said off-handedly.

Odd shook his head. "I thought you needed probable cause in this district." He said.

"Well… yes." Patrick admitted. Odd smirked at him, and the magistrate sighed, "If I tell you, will you let me go on about my job in peace?" The Scout nodded. "Laura… doesn't trust Aelita."

Odd laughed. "That isn't new. Everybody and their greasy haired grandma knows that Her Royal Bitchiness hates Aelita. What does that have to do with you?"

"I was enlisted to investigate her. I'm investigating Laura too, you know—I can't believe that she isn't hiding something." Patrick explained. "Now, please? I'm trying to clear her name."

Odd smiled and waved as he walked away. He watched Aelita as she studied the clouds, and he glanced at Laura, who seemed to be more uptight than usual—if that, he laughed to himself, was even possible. Ulrich sat down next to him. "As much as I enjoy spending time with Kitten, there are only so many cloud bunnies one man can take." He said in a tired voice.

"Of course," Odd agreed. The boys spoke for a while, and Odd whispered, "I heard from Patrick that Laura went to the magistrates to investigate Aelita." He said. Ulrich's eyes widened, and Odd explained that Laura had felt mistrust towards Aelita for a while, and she'd told both William and himself to be wary.

Ulrich turned his attention to Laura, who saw his stare and waved. He shook his head, now distrustful of the Fair.

 

The sun was sinking towards the horizon as Jeremie and Ulrich walked with plates of food for Aelita and Yumi, who'd agreed to stay with Aelita in the woods after Jeremie had asked and then practically begged her to do. As they walked Jeremie Odd's words weighed on his mind and he tried to think of a gift for the Outcast. "Do you think she'd like a book on elven history?"

"Good luck finding one." Ulrich replied as the duo paused near a small pond. "Even the wilders have only reclaimed a little of their history, and most humans don't care." The Mercenary continued, reminding himself not to move his arm. He used his free arm to skip a stone across the surface of the pond.

"I suppose you're right." Jeremie admitted. "Maybe… she'd like jewelry then?" He for a second to paused to think, "but I haven't seen her wear jewelry." He groaned. "Why are women so difficult to shop for?"

Ulrich laughed as they started walking again. "Odd says that they aren't, if you know them well enough, but I'm with you."

Jeremie laughed too, and he continued thinking. "I suppose… flowers? No, I don't think she'd thank me for buying dead nature."

Ulrich considered for a moment, and he reluctantly said, "When we were in Narza, I saw her eyeing rag dolls of elven make. I don't know why she would want one—maybe she was forced to grow up quickly and never had the chance to own one, I'm not sure—but it was obvious that she wanted one." He suggested. "Just on the other side of town, I saw an elven merchant. I doubt that he's from Arlathan, but he sold dolls like the ones in Narza. Just… if she asks who told you, you didn't hear it from me."

The Wise Man laughed, and they kept walking. "I wonder why she acts the way she does. She doesn't speak about her past. All we know about her is that she spent time in Arak-Muna. I don't feel like I can ask her about her past without offending her, or without bringing up that traumatic experience." He mused.

"I heard something from Odd today, about Aelita… I heard that the magistrates told Patrick to investigate Aelita."

"What? Why would they do that? We've been here less than twenty-four hours."

"I'm just telling you what I heard." Ulrich said calmly. "I don't know. I think Laura told them to study her."

Jeremie shook his head in annoyance. "Ugh, is she still on this? I thought she'd moved past it after Dhaune…" There was an unfamiliar flash in Ulrich's eye, and Jeremie stopped his sentence. "I don't know. We can't let Aelita know—gods only know how she'll react. I'll talk to Patrick." His tone dripped with venom.

They approached the aravel, set up about a mile outside of the city. Yumi sat with most of her hair pulled away from her face in a ponytail, and she twisted Aelita's hair into multiple, tiny braids. "Yumi, do you know anything about dragons?" The Outcast asked.

"Why would I?" The Colonist asked.

Aelita sighed. "It's just been bothering me… how do you suppose they scratch themselves if they get an itch on their head? Do you suppose they scratch their heads on a tree, like deer do?"

Yumi laughed. "I'd pay to see that!"

"It makes sense, though, especially if they're shedding!" Aelita pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremie asked.

"Dragons. It was just a thought." The Outcast shrugged.

Ulrich laughed as he handed the elf her dinner. "Let's hope we never have to find out." He said, and though Yumi grinned, the aura was strange. All of them seemed to feel it and Jeremie, growing uncomfortable in the weird silence, handed Yumi her plate of food, thanked her quietly and walked with Ulrich back into the city in silence.


	12. Summer 12

Episode 12: Strings and Threads

2nd of Ferventis

Jeremie walked back into the city with Ulrich in silence, his expression darkening with each step he took towards his temporary home and Patrick. He could see the many dark paths Patrick's magistrates would have for Aelita as a result of even the mere accusation of blood magic and to have an innocent girl subjected to that… No! He was definitely not going to let this happen. Angrily pushing the door of his Uncle's house open and leaving Ulrich behind in the foyer he charged towards the study and stormed into Patrick's office, not bothering to knock on the door. His cousin jumped and looked up from the book he was reading. Jeremie pulled him out of his chair, and Patrick pushed him away. "What do you think you're doing?" Patrick asked, surprised and confused.

"I could ask you the same. What do you think you're doing, spying on Aelita!?" The Wise Man demanded, crossing his arms.

Patrick sighed. "This is the last time I trust Odd to keep a secret," he muttered. Looking his cousin in the eyes he continued with forced calm. "Jeremie, I'm doing my duty. You know that I've been training my whole life to be a magistrate. They've finally given me a chance and I don't intend to be dishonorably discharged."

"And so to impress the Knight Templar, you decide to frame an innocent girl of blood magic?" Jeremie asked rhetorically. "You know what they'll do to her if they believe her to be a witch!"

His words were haunting. Most executions that were decreed by the Knight Templar were private affairs, to spare whatever dignity the condemned had left. But in the rare case a blood magician was branded a witch, they were executed publicly. In smaller villages where the Veil was rumored to be thin, like Falcon's Bridge in the far west, their bodies were hung from trees on the road nearing the village. In those villages it was not uncommon for there to be pyres. "That isn't going to happen, Jeremie. I haven't found any evidence to convict her, or even bring her in."

Jeremie's face turned red. "And? What does that matter?" He continued, his voice growing louder and more desperate, "if you make the accusation, the eyes of the public will view her as guilty! You'd need Jupiter himself to clear her name!"

Patrick reached towards his cousin to try and calm him. "Jeremie, calm down! Do you want the whole neighborhood to hear you? It isn't like I've targeted Aelita alone. I'm investigating Laura, too."

"Oh, I know about Laura's involvement. She's been suspicious about Aelita ever since the day they met. I know that she went to the magistrates, and I know that she wants you to get dirt on Aelita."

"Then why are you yelling at me? Shouldn't you be yelling at Laura?"

"Believe me, I intend to." Jeremie hissed as he looked over his shoulder, like he expected to find her there, even though they both knew the Fair was in bed. "Listen, Patrick. I'm not going to ask you again. Leave. Aelita. Alone."

Patrick sighed as his cousin spun and left the office. He was beginning to wonder if they could get any more distant. Did he even remember why they were feuding?

 

3rd of Ferventis

The market square was as busy as ever with a bustling crowd lining stalls filled with everything imaginable. The air was with thick with scents from the various foods and ingredients on offer while a loud roar made up of vendor's shouts for attention and haggling customers constantly assaulted one's ears. It was through this chaos that the Wise man navigated as he attempted to follow Ulrich's directions. The market stall Jeremie was looking for was smaller than most of the other stalls and located in an out of the way corner. It took many minutes and a fair amount of effort to wade through the crowds, but Jeremie finally managed to find the correct stall.

On the counter were amulets made of hardwood in different shades of brown ranging from almost ebony to rich birch. They were carved with elvish runes, with white and red beads decorating the string. He wished he could read them, but if Ulrich was right and this merchant was city-born, the elf who carved it had probably written nonsensical words and told customers that they meant something different.

The merchant's daughter, a girl of no more than fourteen with curly blue hair, looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back politely. "Papa, we have a customer!" The girl called, and the merchant stumbled around the stall.

"Welcome, friend, welcome! Please, feel free to look around!" He said cheerfully, but his expression changed when he saw Jeremie was human. "Is… there something you need?" He asked sharply.

Jeremie tried not to take it personally. "I'm looking for a gift for my friend. She's a wilder—one of the wandering folk, I guess—and I want it to be special." When the merchant showed no change in expression, he added, "Another friend of mine said that he saw her admiring dolls of elven make. Do you sell dolls here?"

The merchant crossed his arms. "And who is this girl to you, shem?"

"Papa! You're being rude!" His daughter exclaimed.

Jeremie sighed. "A friend. More than a friend, I hope. That's why I want the doll—I want to surprise her, to show her…" He shook his head. "Listen, I would really rather just buy the doll, instead of giving you my whole life's story. Could we please just move this along?"

The merchant opened his mouth, but his daughter stopped him. "Papa, why don't you go fetch some food from the market? You could use some air." She suggested, and her father stormed off. She pulled a box from under the counter and began sifting through it. "I was born in the city, but Mamae was born in Arlathan. She told me all about our culture there and the symbolism behind most of these dolls. I think we have one in here that means protection—maybe if you gave it to her, she'd understand that you will always be by her side?" The merchant's daughter revealed a goblin doll. It had green skin and pointed ears with a long tail. Both his head and the tip and underside of the tail were draped in scruffy dark brown fur. He wore a magenta shirt with a white shirt under it, white bloomer-like pants, and teal green boots and hat.

Jeremie looked up. "A goblin? Aren't goblins known for causing trouble? Why would these mean protection?"

"I don't know!" The girl laughed with confusion obvious in her voice. "Here, let me help you." She found a box and placed the doll inside, and she wrapped it in a ribbon embroidered with purple roses. "Here, take this to the wilder girl."

Smiling broadly, Jeremy paid the girl, adding a little extra for her trouble in wrapping it, and turned away.

"May the Creation Father watch over you," The girl called as he left the stall.

 

"If you want to go back to Kadic, I don't mind, Yumi." Aelita said suddenly, causing the Colonist to look back from her solitary combat practice. "I mean, I'm used to being alone, and I'm not in any real danger here."

Yumi closed her fans with a flick of her wrists and sat down across from the Outcast. "What if Xana sends her constructs after you? What will you do then?"

"It isn't like I'm defenseless. Besides, I know where you are if they do attack me." Aelita smiled. "And I'm used to being alone."

"Jeremie asked me to protect you, Aelita. I intend to do just that," Yumi replied firmly.

"Jeremie worries too much, lethallan. He means well, I know, but I think he forgets that I'm used to being alone in the wilderness."

Yumi looked down the road when she saw a figure approaching from the corner of her eye. 'Well, speak of Pluto," She said, and she smiled when she noticed his strange gait. "Maybe I'll take a walk. I think the two of you should talk alone. I'll be back soon." She stood, and headed towards town. As she walked past Jeremie, she gave him two thumbs up.

Aelita smiled at the Wise Man as he sat beside of her. "Aneth ara, lethallin," She greeted.

Jeremie smiled back. "I brought you something." He said, presenting her the box.

She took it, and she tilted her head. An idea popped into her head. "Elgar'nan! Did I miss some important occasion? Ir abelas, I promise I'll make it up to you!" She apologized.

He laughed. "There's no occasion, Aelita. I just thought you'd like it."

She was dumbfounded for a moment. "You're giving me a present?" She wondered out loud. "It isn't even my name day." She muttered. Then she spoke louder. "Nobody's ever given me a present before. Useful things, tools or clothes. Because I needed them. Not… just because."

"Well, I'm honored to be the first. Go on, open it."

Aelita carefully undid the ribbon and opened the box. Her eyes lit up when she saw the doll inside, and she held it like a fragile flower in her hands. A soft giggle escaped her lips, and with her green eyes shining like stars, she asked, "Do you know why the People give these dolls to their children?" She asked.

Jeremie suddenly questioned his gift. "The… The girl at the market stall said they meant protection," he stammered.

"She's right, in a sense. Our stories tell us that our ancestors, back when we were still immortal and long before the humans invaded, struck a deal with the Goblin King. There could only be one goblin for every elf. This means that humans and orcs could be plagued by a hundred goblins each, but an elf has only one personal troublemaker." She looked back to the doll. "The People give goblin dolls to their children to trick the goblins into thinking that the elf has already been claimed."

The Wise Man smiled weakly. "So, not really a romantic gift then? Next time I'll buy an amulet."

Aelita laughed. "Oh, ma vhenan, you really are crazy, aren't you?" Her cheeks turned red at her comment, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Had she really just said that?

He simply laughed, not knowing what the endearment meant. They sat in silence for a while after Aelita dubbed her new doll Mr. Pück. "Aelita, why won't you go inside of the city?" He finally asked.

"Because I am uncomfortable there," She said simply.

"As you've said, but it is safer there. There's no reason to be uncomfortable."

"Because thousands of heavy stones always make me feel safe," She muttered a bit harsher than she had originally intended. Seeing the hurt reaction on Jeremie's face, she quickly elaborated. "What I mean to say is, while humans feel safer surrounded by tall buildings and large groups of people, the elvhen tend to be more comfortable in nature, surrounded by the garden of the Creation Father."

"Okay, but is there a reason for it?"

She sighed. "It's hard to explain, but it involves your use of paved roads." She thought for a moment, and then snapped her fingers. "You know how humans have five basic senses, right? Elves sort of have another, which we refer to as 'the Creator's Sight.' Basically, we can sense where we are with our feet, and that same interaction with the earth influences the world around us. Because of the Creator's sight I could run straight through a forest, never change my path and never strike a tree."

"So, what, do they just get out of your way?"

"In a sense, yes." Aelita sighed as she continued. "When we're inside of a city or if our connection to the earth is lost, be it by shoes or on a paved road or if, Creator forbid, we lose our feet, we can't tell where we are. That's why I run into things whenever I go into a city. It's dreadful. Have I lost you?"

Jeremie rubbed his eyes, pushing his spectacles from his nose in the process. "I don't really understand." He admitted. "I can see that coming in handy at night but during the day you can simply see where you are in relation to where the things you want to avoid are," he continued gently. He pushed his glasses back into place and then looked at Aelita to gauge her reaction to his words.

When he looked back at her, she suddenly had an idea. She reached and grabbed his spectacles.

"Hey, give those back! I can't see without them." He pleaded.

Aelita placed them on her own face as she continued. "Think of your glasses as the Creator's Sight. If you entered a city without these things, what would happen?"

"They're called spectacles." Jeremie said, awkwardly taking them off of Aelita's nose. "And everything becomes blurry, so much so that I wouldn't be able to read signs or a map. I wouldn't be able to tell where I was going. I'd run into things and… okay, now I understand."

The Outcast smiled. "It isn't a perfect analogy, since I can still technically see. Just… it would be like you losing your spectacles." Her eyes turned to the sky while Jeremie's remained on her face for a while longer.

 

Laura collapsed into the first chair she found in the living room, depressed after having been chewed out by Jeremie. 'Why was it that he couldn't see what she saw?' She wondered to herself. His love had blinded him. She answered her own question silently as Patrick entered the room. She frowned and spoke bitterly, "I was under the impression that your investigation was to be kept a secret."

Patrick shook his head. "Jeremie scolded you, then?" He asked rhetorically. "Odd found the notes I had been writing," he answered. "And by the way, there is no evidence to support your theory that Aelita is a blood magician."

Laura groaned. "Maybe she's really good at hiding it. Maybe she found out that you're watching her!"

Patrick slammed his fist against the wall. "Laura, don't you get it? She isn't a blood magician! I know that must be hard to accept, but Aelita is innocent!" He shouted. He tore at his hair. "I don't know what she did to you that made you hate her, but she isn't this evil, conniving witch!"

The magistrate stormed out of the room, and Laura raised her shoulders and crossed her arms. She exhaled through her nose, and she wondered why no one believed her.


	13. Summer 13

Episode 13: the More Things Change…

7th of Ferventis

It had been seven days, and the Heroes had still not received word from the mayor. Worse still, Aelita said that there were constructs scouting the plains. "Just roaches, so far. I took care of them, but I don't think Xana will wait for very long before she sends crabs and hornets." She reported as she sat in the apartment, with the others, obviously nervous to be in the magistrate's home. She sipped on the tea Jeremie's aunt had made for her. "We have to talk to the mayor, or we'll see a second Capital Lyoko."

Patrick looked to Jeremie. "Perhaps you should speak with the Knight Templar first. He may be able to speed the process."

"I think that may be a good idea, though I was hoping that we could avoid meeting him." Jeremie answered while sending a warning glare at Laura. He would simply leave out Aelita when they spoke, so the Knight Templar wouldn't order an official investigation.

Yumi glanced between the Wise and Fair then stood. "Well, Aelita, you and I should go back to the aravel. Poor Rorkal must be lonely, and we'll want to be there if any more of Xana's monsters get too close to the city."

As the Colonist and the Outcast stood to leave, William caught Yumi's arm. "Yumi! I was wondering… maybe we could hang out this evening? Just you and me?" He suggested.

Yumi looked from William's red eyes to Ulrich's brown ones. "That's really sweet of you, William, but it isn't really a safe time for me to be dating anyone right now." She replied, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"It doesn't have to be a date. I just thought that we could hang out," William said, a weak smile on his face.

Yumi hesitated, but she smiled back. "I guess it wouldn't kill me," She shrugged, and she looked back to Aelita. "Are you going to be alright getting back to the aravel?"

"I'm sure I can." She smiled, though Jeremie seemed concerned. "Dareth shiral, lethallinen," She waved as she left. Yumi smiled at the others as she left, though she turned around and frowned when she saw the jealous look on Ulrich's face. William turned and smiled at the Mercenary.

Patrick shook his head. "I don't know if I trust that guy."

Laura glared at Patrick. "William is one of the most trustworthy elves I've ever met."

Ulrich pulled at his hair. "Ugh! How did Yumi fall for that? He's obviously using her!" He growled. He remembered both the heartbreak he suffered after Heartwood and the jealousy he'd hidden away so he could be happy for Kitten when he heard of the success of her and Jeremie's date. The pain gnawed at his heart.

Jeremie sat and began to flip through the pages of the book he'd left on the table. It was Patrick's manual on the magistrates, and he was studying the techniques in the book. "Yumi is a big girl, and I'm sure her paranoia about Dhaune will make her cautious." He noticed Laura summoning a small fire to warm her tea, and he used a Silencing technique on her, causing the flame to flicker out suddenly.

Laura glared up at him. "What was that for?" She demanded as she tried to summon the flame again. Silencing a magician was temporary, of course, but it took hours for the effects to wear off and for some magicians it was painful. Luckily, Laura didn't feel any pain.

Jeremie smiled and shrugged. "I was just seeing if I could do it." He looked at Patrick. "And without training! Pretty impressive, no?"

Patrick shook his head again and took the book away from his cousin. "Don't do that, Jeremie. Our abilities are supposed to be trade secrets."

"Obviously not," The Wise Man teased.

Ulrich waved his arms. "Hello? We're supposed to be worrying about Yumi here!"

Odd laughed. "No, you're supposed to be worrying about Yumi. The rest of us know she can handle herself."

Ulrich blew a brown hair from his face. "I know she can handle herself. It's just…" He remembered always fighting with William for Yumi's attention ever since they had reached their teenage years. Now, it felt like she had abandoned him. "What has he got that I don't have?" Ulrich demanded.

Odd offered his two coins worth. "Well, he's not a virgin, for one." He bit into the bread he held in his hand, and he laughed. "And let's face it Ulrich, you are."

The Mercenary glared at the Scout, who grinned. "How do you know that I'm a virgin, Odd? We've never spoken about it!" He growled.

Odd rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, Ulrich. I can smell a virgin a mile away."

Patrick laughed and smirked at Odd. "That sounds like a useful power to have!"

Odd laughed and smiled back. "Says you! I'd much rather be able to smell cheese!"

Jeremie looked back at Odd. "I… don't think that's the reason, Odd." He looked at Ulrich. "They're just going to hang out. Don't be paranoid."

Ulrich shook his head, and he looked at his feet. "I may be paranoid, you're right," He said before he looked up at Jeremie. "But a healthy dose of paranoia has saved my life before."

 

Xana knocked on the door to Dhaune's bedchamber. When there was no answer, the Matron rolled her eyes and forced the door open. "Dhaune? You weren't at the war meeting. Are you alright?" She sighed when she found Dhaune on her bed, a wet rag over her face. Hiroki walked in with a platter of tea and water.

"I'm fine, Matron Mother. I'm just hung over." She sat up, and she held her throbbing head in her hand as she tried to stand. "I spent way too much coin on dwarven ale at the tavern. That is strong stuff that they make. I don't know what they put in it but I don't think wheat is one of the ingredients."

"Dhaune, you know that I can't stand to be around drunk people." Xana said firmly.

Dhaune nodded. "Oh, I know! That's why I didn't tell you I was going drinking—so you wouldn't have to be around me." She rubbed her forehead and sat down on the bed. "Forgive me, Matron Mother. I… just have a lot on my mind, and I thought that I could drown those thoughts in drunken stupor. I was wrong. Like always."

Xana sighed, and she looked away. "Oh, sober up, Dhaune. We take over Heartwood tonight."

William and Yumi sat in a tavern, waiting for the food they'd ordered to arrive. Glancing around the room, she noticed it was filled with refugees from towns they'd warned over the past few months. Yumi sighed. "If this many people have come to Kadic seeking protection, then many of the towns and villages we warned have fallen."

"There wasn't any more that we could've done. We'd have ended up with our heads on pikes, if we were lucky." William said, leaning back in his chair. There was a long pause. Yumi looked to her toes, and William turned his attention to the rafters. He suddenly asked, "How are you holding up, Yumi?"

She looked up at him. "What? Oh, I'm fine. Just… fine." She sighed, and she swished her ale around in the tankard. "Why do you ask?"

"It seems to me that you got the worst of this situation. Dhaune turned on you, and then put Ulrich in danger. It must be very difficult." The Vanguard explained. He looked to her with those red eyes that had unnerved her when they had first met. "So, I ask again—how are you holding up?"

"Well…" Yumi took a breath. "MybrotherwastakenbythedrowmyfirstloverturnsouttobeapawnofXana'snottomentionthatweallliveinconstantfearthatonedaytheMatronMotherwillfindusandmurderusallinoursleepthenDhaunesendsconstructsafterUlrichinthemiddleofourdateandgodsknowthatIdon'tneedthatonmyshouldersplusJeremiesaysthatLaurahasbeentryingtogetAelitabrandedabloodmagicianandquitefranklyyouhaven'tbeenanyhelpatallinthatfield!" She gasped for breath, and William leaned over and put a finger on her lips.

"Don't…" He started. "Don't add to that. You'll just hurt yourself."

Yumi laughed weakly between gasps. "I guess you're right." She admitted. "Although, it feels good to finally have my frustrations off my chest. I mean, everyone knew that I had them, but I haven't really spoken to them with anybody but Aelita, and she… doesn't understand." Yumi looked to the floor again, and then smiled at William. "I'm glad we're friends, William."

"I'm glad we're friends, too." He said with a hint of longing in his voice.

 

Ulrich approached Aelita, who had found several new friends—a bluebird, a ground robin, and a squirrel. The squirrel and the birds fled when they heard the Mercenary, and Aelita pouted with a sigh. Nevertheless, she smiled at her friend. "Aneth ara, Ulrich."

"Aneth ara, Kitten," He greeted, and she smiled wider. "Did you run into any signposts on your way back?" He asked with brotherly affection.

She laughed. "A few. But I think I'm getting better at finding out where they are!" She turned her head skyward and watched the clouds.

He turned to look up as well, hoping to enjoy the peace of being around Aelita and the quiet of the forest. Instead his mind went back to that disaster of a date and the ease with which Yumi had accepted William's proposal. He clenched his fists as Aelita continued gazing skyward seemingly oblivious to his plight. The silence was driving him crazy and when he could take no more he finally stood. "Fine, go ahead and say it! I lost my chance with Yumi! I never should have let her walk away from me that night! I should have stopped her; I should've been prepared for anything that night! But I wasn't and now she's gone for good!" He shouted, pacing around the smoking fire pit. Aelita said nothing, and simply stared at the sky.

Ulrich sighed, shook his head and sat down again, finally looking up at the clouds. "That one over there looks like a bunny rabbit."

She grinned. "I saw that, too!" After a moment, she looked back at Ulrich. "Maybe you should tell Yumi about your feelings. I'm sure she'll understand, lethallin."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ulrich said.

"Why not? The worst thing she could say is 'no'!"

"A 'no' will feel worse than having a thousand bricks dumped on my head."

"If she doesn't know about your feelings, Ulrich, how can you expect her to respect them?"

Ulrich looked at the Outcast, and she shrugged. "When did you get so wise?" He teased, and she rolled her eyes.

"Call it a woman's intuition," She said.

He stood and stretched then removed the sling and threw it into the fire pit, giving Aelita specific instructions to burn it later. "Well, here goes," Ulrich said, "I'm off to ruin Yumi's date. Wish me luck!"

"May the Creation Father guide you!" Aelita waved, and then she thought about what he had said as he'd left. "Wait, did I really just condone that?"

 

Yumi and William walked towards the edge of the city. "Well, it was good to hang out with you and not worry that Dhaune will send constructs after you." Yumi said, "Maybe it helps that this wasn't romantic, but still, I didn't think I'd ever be able to hang out with my friends again."

"Maybe Dhaune has moved on," William suggested.

Oddly enough, she wasn't thrilled with this idea. "Hmm. Maybe she has." She looked down at her toes, and she muttered, "Maybe it is time for me to move on, too," William stopped walking, and Yumi turned to look at him. He'd closed his eyes, and she laughed nervously. "Uh, William? What are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to move on," He whispered as he walked closer to her. He pinned her to the wall, and she pushed herself against it as much as she could. "Doesn't that mean…?"

"No! Gods, no!" Yumi said. "I want to move on, but that doesn't mean that it's safe for anyone to get close to me! We don't know what Dhaune—I mean, what Xana is planning."

William looked her in the eyes. "It isn't about Dhaune or Xana, is it? This is about Ulrich."

Yumi shrugged, a confused expression obvious on her face. "Yes? No? I don't know. Ulrich and I… I'm afraid it may be too late."

"If he truly cared for you, would he have let you leave?" William asked, and he moved his face closer to hers.

"Yumi!" Ulrich's voice called, and the Mercenary rounded the corner. "Yumi, I have to tell you something!" He saw William and Yumi, and he panicked on the inside.

Panicking, Yumi shoved William away creating enough space to duck under the arm that had trapped her. "Yes, Ulrich?" She asked, her voice shaking.

Ulrich stood, paralyzed for a moment. "I… Aelita asked me to ask you when you would get back to the aravel. She said that she wanted to make tea, or something."

Yumi sighed. "I'm leaving now. Thank you, Ulrich." She waved good-bye to William, and bid him an awkward goodnight before turning in the direction of Aelita's camp. She walked slowly under the sun, which was beginning to fade into the night, and for the first time in a long time she felt like the awkward teenager she was supposed to be. She wondered why things couldn't be simple—why she had such a difficult time in relationships when it seemed to come so naturally to everyone else. She reached into her sleeve and held on to the koi stone, and she wanted to cry when she realized that the more things change, the more they stayed the same.

The sun was almost gone by the time she stumbled into the aravel. She must've looked like a mess, because when Aelita saw her, she gasped and ran over to her. "Blood of the Creation Father, Yumi! Are you alright? What happened?" She asked, helping her friend to sit. Yumi burst into tears, and Aelita held her while she cried.


	14. Summer 14

Episode 14: Sam I Am

9th of Ferventis

Odd took a deep breath. Even through the city air, he could smell the changing seasons on the wind, but more importantly, he smelled candy. He wandered through the twisting city streets, taken in by the scent of sweetmeats that seemed to overpower everything else. While he was winding through the alleys, a figure stepped out of the shadows. "Odd Della-Robbia? Tell me that I'm hallucinating." The figure said. Odd stepped closer, and the figure walked closer to him. She was an elf, though she was taller than him, and her skin was dark. She had cropped black hair with two red streaks in the front and wore a short grey dress, the leather corset unlaced near her cleavage. "No, I'm not hallucinating. Driven here by the conflict in the west, huh?" Samantha Knight asked, crossing her arms.

"Sam!" Odd exclaimed, embracing his former lover. "Gods above! What are you doing here? I thought you were headed back to the Uncharted South."

Sam shrugged. "I was drawn in by the intoxicating aroma of stone and shemlen." She joked as she walked back into the shadows to lean on the wall. Odd followed her, and she smiled. "But I asked you first."

"My friends and I, we were chosen to be Heroes. We're on a quest to defeat Xana, the leader of the dark elves—the ones causing this 'conflict,' as you say." Odd crossed his arms. "Why are you just standing here in the dark? Don't you have a job or something?"

Sam laughed humorlessly. "This is my job, Odd. I turn tricks in the dark." She looked down into the darkness and her voice fell just a bit. "I hit a rough patch after I left Capital Lyoko." Looking back up, she smiled at her former lover and continued in a teasing, almost patronizing voice. "But look at you. You're some big-shot hero, eh? That must pay well."

"Less so than you might think," Odd said as he reached for his coin purse. "Here, Sam—let me help you. I have some gold here; I want you to have it."

Sam held up her hand. "No, I don't want or need your charity." She replied scornfully, and there was a moment of silence. Odd took this time to examine her face—Sam had 'earned' her vallaslin, as Aelita would say—her face was marked with a red sun between her eyebrows and two lines on both of her cheekbones. Her eyes had turned yellow during their separation, and Odd remembered the brown eyes she'd once had. He wondered if that was a side effect of the vallaslin, and, if it was, he wondered what color Aelita's eyes had been before she'd 'earned' her markings. "Although, Odd, maybe you could help me with something… personal."

"Of course, Sam. I owe you that, at least."

She waved him closer, and she whispered, "There's a man in the shadows of Kadic who owes me. I want you to help me get it."

Odd looked at her in confusion. "You want me to help you get money?" He asked. "I gave up stealing a long time ago."

"No, it isn't money, and even if it were, it isn't stealing if it belongs to me." Sam said, unable to look him in the eyes. "It's… information. On the location of a relic that can help me—both of us, even."

"What kind of relic?"

"It's a really old book. Like, I mean dating back hundreds of years, before the fall of Elvhenan." Sam explained, "It's really valuable. If I can get my paws on it, I'll be set up for life! The trouble is, this man seems to think that he needs it more." Odd seemed hesitant. "Please, Odd? Do it for me, for what we share."

Odd thought for a moment, and he sighed. "Fine. I'll help you get this relic, if that's what you need."

Sam smiled, her grin wolfish and borderline menacing. "Thank you so much, Odd! You won't regret this!" She said, hugging the Scout. "Meet me outside the Lucky Minstrel tonight. That's the brothel where I work. I'll slip away, and you and I can discuss the plan then."

 

He hadn't told anyone where he was going that evening—they would only try to stop him. The twisted streets of big cities always lead right to the dark part of town, where drug dealers and prostitutes waited like scavengers, so Odd had no trouble finding the whorehouse. It was dilapidated, with broken windows and a door falling off its hinges. Hanging over the entryway was a sign which looked to be a golden lute lying in a bed of roses, though time and weather had worn away the paint. Now it sort of looked like a bloody pig. The Scout leaned cautiously against the brick, as if just being near the place would give him a disease.

Sam snuck outside, and she'd exchanged her grey dress for a black leather cuirass and black pants. Attached to her belt were a whip and a serrated blade. She looked around and smiled when she saw Odd. "Oh, there you are. I didn't see you." She crossed her arms. "Are you ready?"

He stood up and nodded. "I'm ready. Where is this man?"

Sam looked over her shoulder, motioning to the manhole behind her. "He's lurking around in the sewers, like vermin do. Come on. He won't be there for long. Cover your nose." The duo walked over to the manhole cover, and they worked together to move it. Sam climbed down first, with Odd hesitantly following behind her. He closed the manhole as he did, and he was relieved to find an elevated walkway.

Nevertheless, he cringed at the smell. "Ugh, walking through the sewers to find some unknown mystery man. Why does this feel familiar?" Odd asked rhetorically, though the feeling of déjà vu was overpowering.

"It doesn't matter. We've got to find Mathias Burrel," Sam said, marching forward.

"Mathias Burrel? That's the man you're looking for?" Odd asked. Sam seemed so different than she had that morning. There was a stalking look to her gait, and now her fingers seemed more like claws.

She noticed that he had slowed his pace so she stopped and turned. Her yellow eyes glowed in the darkness. Crossing her arms she whispered urgently, "Odd, keep up. Mathias will only be here for a little while." She resumed her pace and Odd sped up his walk to keep up with her. "Yes, Mathias is the man who owes me. He isn't much older than that Nihonjin girl would be now—what was her name? Yuri?"

"Yumi," Odd corrected absentmindedly.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is he's down here and he has some explaining to do." After that they walked in silence the only sounds being the rushing of the sewage next to them and the rats that circled in the walls and on the walkways. Suddenly, Sam pointed to a man across the sewers holding a torch. "There's Mathias! Get him!" She shouted, sprinting after the figure with superhuman speed.

Odd was startled by the sudden change in pace, and he sprinted after her, though he was not half as fast. He kept to the walkways, trying his best to avoid getting his clothes dirty. He was sure he already smelled horrible.

When he caught up to Sam, Mathias—a man with dark hair and spectacles, like Jeremie's, in peasant's clothes—was wrapped in Sam's iron whip with her blade pressed against his throat. "Where is it? Tell me, you miserable mongrel!" She shouted.

Mathias whimpered. "Please, don't hurt me!"

Sam sliced off one of Mathias's fingers, and he screamed in pain. "There will be more where that came from if you don't start talking, Burrel!" She shouted, placing the blade against his throat again.

Odd pulled on Sam's shoulders. "Calm down, Sam! Give him a chance to talk or this whole venture was for nothing!" He reasoned. Sam glared at him, but she stood up, though she kept Mathias pinned to the ground with a lead-filled boot to his chest. Odd tried to reason with Mathias. "Listen, if you promised Sam you'd give her information, then it is your duty to relay it to her. Now, why don't you just tell us where this book is, and we'll be on our way."

"There's a hole in the ground—gah!! It's really a hole in the ground, out on the plains! It's covered in grass and things but it's just at the bottom of a tree with the initials 'A.H' carved into it!" Mathias whimpered through the pain, struggling to break free of the whip and the boot. "Under the false panel in the treasure chest, there's a ladder that leads to the den. In the back room of the den, the Codex sits on a pedestal. Gah!! No, I'm not being cryptic; those are really the instructions to get it! But beware, because the pack is guarding it, and you aren't the only one looking for it!" Mathias started crying, and Sam looked up at Odd.

"Well? Do you believe him?" Sam asked.

Odd shrugged. "He doesn't really have a reason to lie, does he?"

"Hmm. Very well," Sam said. She lifted her boot off of Mathias's chest, and she released him from the binds of the whip. "I had better not see your sorry face again, Burrel! You had better run!" She shouted as he scurried off into the darkness of the sewers. Smiling, she looked at Odd. "Well, just one more trip. Feel like helping me out one last time?"

"Of course I'll help you, Sam, but this book—Mathias called it the Codex. What is it? What does it do? Why is it so valuable?" Odd asked as Sam lead him to another manhole.

Sam hesitated to answer him. "There are too many magistrates for me to tell you anything here. I'll tell you when we get out of the city."

 

When Odd suggested they take Rorkal to get to the tree faster, Sam agreed hurriedly. Though when they reached the aravel, she seemed dreadfully disappointed to learn Rorkal was just a horse. "Oh, I thought he would be… more exciting." She sighed.

"I know, he's just a horse! That isn't as exciting as a griffon or something, but hey, what are you going to do?" Odd said.

"Odd, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be in bed?" A voice asked. Odd looked to find Aelita seated on top of the aravel, and it appeared that she was knitting scarves.

Flabbergasted, and a bit annoyed that any of his friends were going to find out what he was doing, he asked, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"The spirits are very active tonight. Whenever I try to sleep, they torment my dreams." Aelita replied. "But you are not subject to overactive spirits and I asked you first. Why are you not in bed, lethallin? And who is this?"

"Aelita, this is Sam. You remember, I told you about her." Odd crossed his arms. "I'm just helping her get some money. Is there a problem with this?"

"Not that I can think of," She answered, though she didn't sound confident. "Are you taking Rorkal out for a midnight stroll? I can't imagine he'll be too happy about being woken up, but it'll be good for him to get some exercise. We've been stationary for far too long."

Odd mounted the horse, and he helped Sam to mount as well. "Well, I'm glad to know that you approve." He said flatly.

"Be careful, Odd. The forest and the plains will be far more dangerous tonight than before." Aelita warned.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Let's go. We've got a lot of ground to cover before sunrise." She said, and Odd snapped the reigns. Rorkal galloped away from the forest surroundings of Kadic towards the open plains. "The Codex is the shortened title of the relic that I'm looking for. Its full title is the Codex of the Night Hunters, and it can heighten the abilities of any creature born of the night. That means vampires, goblins, some kinds of dragons, demons, and yes, werewolves.

"After we broke up, I came to Kadic, hoping to start a new life. But as you know, the wolf-blood calls to us wherever we are. Then I heard about the Codex, and I realized that if I had it, I would be able to control my transformations. I've been searching for it for about a year now." Sam explained, as they came to a small grove of trees.

Odd and Sam dismounted, and Odd instructed Rorkal to wait for them outside of the grove. Entering the grove, the duo examined the trunks of every tree in their path until Odd spotted one with 'A.H' carved into the bark. They searched the grass below, and Sam tore up the dirt to find a treasure chest hidden in the thicket. Opening it, the two worked together to remove the false bottom, which revealed a dark tunnel leading into the ground. Odd hesitated for a moment, holding his head in his hand. "Are you alright, Odd?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just… have a headache. It's gone now." Odd said, and he motioned to the tunnel. "Well? Ladies first."

Sam smiled and jumped inside, and Odd followed behind her. "Do you smell that? Wolf-kin. We aren't alone here…" She whispered. "It seems that Mathias was telling the truth."

The passage opened up to a large room with many beds and banners decorated with the phases of the moon. But this was not the most shocking thing. The shocking thing was the dozen dead people littering the room. Many were human, though at least two were dwarves and one was an elf. Every one of them smelled of wolf. "Dead werewolves. Are the magistrates to blame?" Odd asked.

"If the magistrates had been here, they'd have set the place on fire. Something else killed the wolf-kin, and recently." Sam said. They both jumped when they heard voices, two masculine and one feminine, but all were familiar to her. "Prepare your arrows. There's going to be a fight." Sam whispered.

The two hid on either side of the entrance to the back room. "Another cursed relic for our collection. The Archivist will be pleased, no doubt." One of the masculine voices said.

Odd drew an arrow and aimed for the person closest to the pedestal. All three wore thick red tunics with blue leggings. Over their clothes were salmon-colored scarves and cloaks, and their faces were obscured by blue masks and glass goggles. As the man reached to take the Codex, he could see the blue fingerless gloves. Odd released the primed arrow, striking the man in the forehead, knocking him back. The other man drew twin blades, and the woman drew a broadsword. Sam lept from her hiding place, using her whip to bring the woman down before pouncing on her like a lioness. The remaining man charged after Sam, but Odd grabbed his cloak and yanked him down. He tore at the man's face with his clawed gauntlets, and Sam appeared over Odd's shoulder to slit the man's throat.

"Let's hope there aren't any more of them. I don't hear anyone else." Sam said, wiping her blade on her leggings.

Odd stood. "Who were they? Their outfits were strange, and they spoke of the relic being cursed and of an Archivist."

She waved him off. "No one of consequence, and don't believe them when they say the relic is cursed. Curses don't exist." Sam stated in a confident tone. She approached the pedestal. "Damn, I've spent a whole year of my life searching for this, and finally, my hard work will pay off!" She exclaimed, tracing the cover of the Codex. It was leather, but it was worn and soaked in blood. It was locked shut, though the key lay beside it. Sam held the key in her hand, and she examined it. "I hope it feels like it should."

Odd looked back at the book, and he could've sworn he saw it move. "Gods above! Sam, that thing is evil!"

"What, just because you don't understand it, it automatically makes it evil? We spend every minute of our lives trying to hide who we really are, for fear that if it gets out we'll be killed! This book—this glorious relic—holds the secret to making the people of Lyoko accept us!" Sam declared as she placed the key in the lock and turned it. The book's pages flew open, and it looked like the nighttime sky blasted out of the pages, consuming Sam in its mystery. She screamed, but then she laughed, and Odd watched her warp through the starlight. Sam wasn't in control of her beast form—it was controlling her!

Odd struggled to get closer, yet something kept him at bay. He inched closer to the blackness that seemed to be spreading, and he could feel it try to wrap itself around his legs. He shook it off and searched for Sam in the darkness. "Sam, you have to fight this!"

Sam spoke, but her voice had changed. It was the voice of a wolf if a wolf could speak—a menacing growl, full of hunger and bloodlust. "I will not fight. I will submit to the will of the wolf, and so will you!" She reached out of the blackness and grabbed his shoulders with her paws, trying to pull him into the night. He struggled against her, kicking and screaming.

The blackness disappeared in a burst of white light, and Sam collapsed to the floor. Now Odd could see what the Codex had done to her—she was larger than any normal werewolf, now easily eight feet tall. Her arm muscles were bulging, and her teeth were the size of Odd's middle finger. Slowly, she began to warp back into her elven form.

Odd looked up, and he saw Patrick in the doorway, decked out in his magistrate armor. Behind him stood the other Heroes, who had also come ready to fight. "What in the name of the gods is going on here?" Patrick demanded, lowering his hand and approaching the Scout.

Since he was unwilling to admit to lycanthropy, Odd struggled to explain. Finally, he said, "Sam was an ex-lover of mine back in Capital Lyoko. It turns out that she was a werewolf—but you saw that. She asked me to help her make some money, and I agreed. She led me here, and we found this book. It… changed her." He shook his head. "Gods, I don't know what is going on myself. She told me about this thing, but I didn't know this would happen." He looked at Patrick in confusion. "How did you know I was here?"

He motioned to his cousin. "Ask Jeremie."

Odd looked to the Wise Man, but Aelita spoke. "After you left, I went into the city and told Jeremie that you were acting strangely, and that you and Sam had run off with Rorkal."

Jeremie spoke next. "I used my telepathy to find you. Do you not remember?"

Odd remembered the headache he had gotten outside of the den. "Oh, that was you?" He asked.

"Yes. The information wasn't much to go on, but we were able to find you quickly." Jeremie said.

Laura approached the Scout. "I don't see any injuries. Were you hurt?" She asked.

He sighed. "Nothing I won't recover from."

Patrick tied Sam's hands together with rope. "Well, I can't guarantee how much she'll remember, but I'm going to have to take her to the prisons. We can't have a werewolf on the loose." The magistrate said, lifting up Sam and trying his best not to let her fall.

"Please, don't let the Knight Templar execute her. She used to be a good person, I swear. She isn't acting like herself." Odd pleaded.

Patrick didn't seem too pleased, but his stern expression broke into a smile, and he said, "I'll see if I can't convince her to try curing her lycanthropy when she wakes up, but if she's uncooperative…"

Odd nodded. "I know. But, try to convince her to do it? For me?" He grinned.

"I'll try. I promise nothing." Patrick said, and he left the back room in silence, dragging Sam along with him.

When everyone was certain the magistrate was out of earshot, William looked back to Odd. "Don't you feel bad for forcing Sam into something you won't do yourself?"

"Sam has gone crazy. I'm in control," Odd said firmly.

Yumi kneeled by the corpses in the strange clothes. One of them was wearing a heavy gold amulet carved with a symbol. It was the sun, overlapped by two crescent moons. "Jeremie, isn't this the symbol on your mother's book bag?" She asked, removing the amulet to hand to the Wise Man. He compared the two symbols, and they were indeed the same. "What could it mean?"

"I don't know. I've only ever seen this symbol on my mother's book bag. I thought it was something personal to her—I have no idea what it means." Jeremie said, though he stored the amulet in the bag.

Odd grabbed the Codex from the pedestal. "They spoke about bringing the Codex to the Archivist. Did your mother ever mention someone like that?" He asked.

Jeremie thought for a moment. "Not that I can remember, though both she and my father were close to the archivist in the monastery in Capital Lyoko. I doubt they're the same person, though."

Ulrich shrugged. "If I know anything about our luck, and I do, we'll find out soon enough."

Jeremie smiled. "No doubt." He motioned for the others to follow him. "We speak with the mayor tomorrow, and then it's time for us to hit the road again."


	15. Summer 15

Episode 15: Into Chaos

13th of Ferventis

The sun itself hadn't yet completely risen from bed when the Heroes awoke. Laura, since she had the most recent watch, had already been awake for hours and she used that time to make breakfast for the group. As they began to eat, William noted, "It's been three months since Capital Lyoko fell, and I don't feel any closer to a conclusion now than I did when we knew nothing about the attack except that it would occur."

Yumi smiled. "At least we know our enemy, and we're ahead of Xana. We're doing well to save many lives."

"It just feels like we're on the wrong side of a losing battle." William said.

His statement hung in the air as not one of the heroes felt able to challenge its veracity. Xana knew they were still together and she was doing her best to kill them. What felt worse was that it seemed they were giving Xana the best path to each of the towns they visited. Still, at least those places were not caught unprepared. After a long silence, Laura took in a deep breath and smiled at Jeremie. In the friendliest tone she could manage, she said, "So, Jeremie, I was thinking that after we defeat Xana, you and I should get married!"

If the camp had been silent before, it was a vacuum then. Not even the fire dared to crackle. The group looked in anticipation to Jeremie, since this was a proposal no normal human would pass up, but everyone knew that Jeremie was in a relationship with Aelita. The Wise Man, however, was only aware of two pairs of eyes—Laura's and Aelita's. The proposal had come out of nowhere, and he could honestly say that he was unprepared.

Coughing, Jeremie covered his mouth until he caught his breath. "I'm sorry, what?"

Laura flipped her hair back, and she elaborated. "Well, once we have defeated the drow, we'll be war heroes, and we all recognize you as our leader. It is customary for war heroes to marry princesses anyway, so we may as well get used to the idea now."

Jeremie laughed nervously. "As much as I… appreciate the offer, Princess, I don't think even a title of war hero will endear me enough to the citizens of Lyoko for them to forget that I am the son of two scholars and not someone important like… I don't know; a nobleman or something."

"You're selling yourself short. Your heritage will be forgotten, and you'll be recognized as a hero of the people." Laura said cheerfully, and Aelita muttered something under her breath that sounded condescending. "Besides, you've shown yourself to be a great leader. Our union will be a strong one."

"That's… That's really nice of you, Laura, but I just don't think that it is a good idea to be discussing these things," Jeremie's face was turning bright red. "We should probably let our fathers deal with this."

"It's the age of the Guardian; pretty soon, no one will have their fathers arrange their marriages."

Ulrich snorted loudly. "Ha! That'll be the day."

Laura glared at him, and then returned her gaze to Jeremie, who had taken a sudden and overpowering interest in the fire. "Just promise me you'll think about it?" She suggested. The Wise Man grunted in a nonspecific tone and the Heroes started eating again, though the atmosphere was no longer the same.

When she felt it was safe, Aelita smiled weakly at Jeremie. "Don't forget that we agreed to go scouting together once we set up camp tonight, lethallin."

"I haven't forgotten." Jeremie replied, and he was happy to do it, especially since it meant getting away from Laura.

 

Dhaune flinched at the pool in front of her, having witnessed the entire scene. Even she had been shocked by Laura's proposal, but she was even more shocked to learn that Jeremie, who had never had trouble denying or deciding before, had been unable to reject her, even though it was clear he wanted to. "And he's supposed to be the Wise Man," She muttered with pity.

"What about the Wise Man?" Xana asked as she entered the war room. Dhaune jumped, nearly knocking over the pool of holy water. Xana sighed in frustration, fed up with the general. "This had better be good, Dhaune, or so help me…"

Flinching, Dhaune reported, "The Fair offered the Wise Man a proposal of marriage, even though she knows that the Wise Man is in a relationship with the Outcast." Xana seemed unimpressed, so she added, "As you know, the Fair and the Outcast do not get along at all. She's doing this to drive a wedge between the Outcast and the Wise Man, probably so she can take him for herself or just to hurt the Outcast, I don't know. But it can work to our advantage."

Xana smiled. "You are right. Have you been keeping a close eye on her dreams?"

"I have, Matron Mother." Dhaune nodded. "Though, her dreams are just faces of those she feels she has disappointed; those who according to all records and accounts are long since dead."

"So then, have her disappoint the Wise Man," Xana waved the general off and proceeded to leave the room. Dhaune looked back at the pool of holy water and sighed. Have Aelita disappoint Jeremie? How would she do that? She stared at the pool for many hours before an idea graced her mind.

 

The group had decided to stop early that night, as they were nowhere close to a town and none of them felt like walking. Ulrich and Aelita opened up the aravel, like they did every night, and the others began to set up their tents. Odd sat up and shouted, "Three men headed our way, heavy armor, swift pace!"

The teenagers dropped what they were doing and prepared to attack, but when the men approached, everyone but Aelita relaxed. Three magistrates had approached them. Ulrich placed a hand on her shoulder to ask her to calm down. "Travelers?" One of the magistrates asked his fellow knights. "Not many would brave the roads in a time where not even our king sends messengers."

"Capital Lyoko has fallen. We are spreading word to the towns across Lyoko so they can prepare themselves." Jeremie informed the magistrates.

A different magistrate held up a hand masked in a gauntlet. "It is of no matter. So long as you are in this region, the Knight Templar demands that we search your belongings for signs of blood magic."

Odd scoffed at the knights. "The only blood magic around here will be when those three finally synchronize." He joked as he pointed at the women in the group with his thumb. The girls stared at him with offended disbelief, but the boys were laughing as hard as they could. Even the magistrates let out a giggle.

The leader of the group of magistrates shook his head. "Nevertheless, it is demanded and we shall deliver. Now please, stand aside."

The teenagers had no choice but to obey, and the magistrates searched their belongings. They seemed to linger on the Codex, which Odd had so adamantly refused to part with, but they couldn't seem to conclude that it was connected to blood magic so they left it. The shortest magistrate thanked the teens for their cooperation, and Laura noticed from the corner of her eye that Aelita relaxed ever so slightly when they had gone.

 

The space between them was an abyss. Aelita stared over the cliffs, and Jeremie went between watching her and the sky as they walked. Once they had gotten about half a mile from camp, Jeremie broke the silence and asked, "This is about what happened with Laura, isn't it?"

Aelita furrowed her brows. "Oh, you think?" She asked rhetorically. "You should have said no, Jeremie."

"I don't know how they do it where you're from, Aelita, but in Lyoko, when a princess offers you a marriage proposal, you accept it." Jeremie explained.

"But you don't love her!" Aelita protested.

Jeremie laughed bitterly. "Since when has love had anything to do with marriage?"

"Surely your parents must've loved each other. Even a little?" She offered.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they were an exception. But for the most part, marriages are status-raising events. If Laura has chosen me, there's no way my father will deny her." He smiled at Aelita. "But even now it isn't a sure thing, Aelita. I'm not going to marry Laura."

"You should tell her that. She thinks that you're considering it."

"No, I don't think it's a good idea to tell her no. She is a princess, after all."

Aelita muttered something under her breath, and it sounded like 'shemlen.' Jeremie couldn't get mad at her for it—even he hated the idea of a loveless marriage.

They continued walking in an uncomfortable silence until they arrived at a pond near a waterfall. They'd passed it on the road and Aelita had wanted to check it out again, as something 'felt strange,' she had said. Now she examined the surroundings, especially the rocks. She called Jeremie over and showed him markings that had been carved in the stones, though the water had eroded most of them away, and then pointed to the strange rock formations at the top of the cliff. "In the days of Elvhenan, we had many places where we hid treasures from thieves. They were rumored to be sealed magically, and only magicians recognized by the Creator could open them. After the humans invaded, we hid these places better by masking them with water." She smiled at the human boy. "I'll bet that if we were to go for a dive, I could open the door. After all, I have earned my vallaslin, and now all I need to do is activate it."

"What do you think we'll find within?" Jeremie asked as Aelita approached the water.

Aelita pulled of her shirt and her skirt, keeping on only her smallclothes and her bandages. Jeremie felt his face heat up, and he covered his mouth with his hand. "I'm not sure, but it's bound to be beautiful and powerful," She smiled, and then laughed at his flustered expression. "You do swim, don't you? I don't think many mortals, human, elven or otherwise, swim with their clothes on. Am I wrong?" He shook his head, unable to speak due to his swelled tongue. She waited in the shallow end of the water, and in teasing impatience, asked, "Well? Are you coming?"

Jeremie struggled to find his voice. 'I—I can't strip while you're watching!" She rolled her eyes, but turned so her back was facing him. Jeremie removed his shirt and checked to see if Aelita was watching him.

She wasn't, but he noticed scars that decorated her shoulder blades. They were long and thin, though it seemed that most of them had healed over with new skin long ago. He concluded they must've been from her time at Arak-Muna, though he knew that he would never ask and probably spend a long time denying he'd seen the scars. He removed his boots and his pants, and he gently grabbed Aelita's shoulder, being careful not to get near the scars. She turned and smiled at him. "Come on, if we don't hurry, the others will get worried, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not explain why we're both in our smallclothes."

He smiled back. "No, I don't think that would be a comfortable situation for anyone," Jeremie replied as he dove into the water, purposefully splashing the Outcast.

"Hey!" She screeched happily, and dove after him. Now that she was underwater, she could hear the ancient humming of the elven runes. Their stories said that, like the language that dragons used among each other, the elven runes had a deeper meaning than just communication and when applied by a master, could sing to anyone versed in the tongue. Aelita searched for the source of the sound, with Jeremie close behind her. It was near the bottom of the pond, and though the sun was setting now, it provided enough light for the elf to see the pad where she put her hand.

Her palm left a white imprint on the pad, and it flickered before the light spread through the archaic designs. The entire pond lit up with white light, startling the fish that inhabited it. The stone opened, but just barely enough for the teenagers to swim through. Jeremie grabbed Aelita's wrist and pointed for her to swim up. They broke the surface of the water, and caught their breath. "See? Didn't I tell you?" Aelita asked.

He laughed. "I never doubted you for a second." They treaded water until they came to a dry platform in the air pocket, where the duo pulled themselves out. "So, when do we find this treasure you promised, and how do you know that it is still here?"

"Well, the door was shut, there's that," Aelita said, and she stood, almost losing her balance and falling backwards into the water. "Although the treasure can't be too much farther, I doubt it has any real value to anyone other than the People."

"Still, this is a good chance to learn something." The Wise Man said, and they walked into the darkness. Aelita pushed on a granite slab, which became indented and slid out of the way at her touch. Inside there was a brightly lit room filled with many items, all of elven make. Jeremie spotted a mirror twice the size of any he'd ever seen before, a pile of golden coins carved with the profile of an elf in a crown, a staff that was carved out of ebony and had a mithril blade and horsehair tuft at the end, and the skeleton of a person who had died in his armor and with his blade. "Gods above. This man died to protect these things," Jeremie said as he approached the skeleton.

Aelita nodded sadly. "Many died here, in case the shemlen broke our defenses and tried to steal our artifacts. The ultimate humiliation would have been to have died at the hands of something you created." She explained. She approached the skeleton and sang the elven dirge for him out of respect for his sacrifice.

Jeremie stood and searched the room. "Do you know what any of these things are?" He asked.

"Some of them, yes. The mirror is called an Eluvian. Every clan has one, and a person who maintains it." She cringed. "You don't want to be around a broken Eluvian. Actually, you'd better avoid that one, just in case it's passed its use-by date. Everything else here, I don't know. I've never heard of these things. Well, except the coins, but those are self-explanatory."

The teenagers rummaged through the old items. Jeremie found a gauntlet that opened into a sword, which he slid on his arm to get a feel for. Oddly, it added no weight to his arm, and he maintained some level of dexterity. "The elves seemed really advanced, contrary to our stories. The humans say that your people were savages."

Aelita didn't even bother to face him. "They still say that." She said flatly. She pulled a mask of a rabbit out of the pile. It was painted black with white and red designs on the middle of the head and around the mouth. "Doesn't this make you think of Yumi? This design looks almost Nihonjin in origin. I wonder if we borrowed the design from Nippon?" Aelita placed the mask on her face, but before she even got a chance to tie the strings, she'd vanished into thin air. Jeremie jumped, and Aelita reappeared, the mask now away from her face. They looked at each other for a moment before Aelita grinned. "That was awesome."

 

Dhaune had watched Jeremie and Aelita dive into the pond, but she hadn't bothered to investigate further into what they were doing. Instead, Xana's order floated in her mind. She scanned the area, searching for a way to drive a wedge between them.

Constructs were not an option. Dhaune wanted to prove to Xana that she could follow orders and not waste resources doing it. She could summon demons, but she couldn't imagine how that would drive them apart, and Aelita could sense them anyway. She discovered a bandit camp as she scanned the area, and an idea popped into her head. Aelita was a glass canon, and after three months on the road, Jeremie was still only slightly better at combat than he had been, and could easily be taken down. Bandits were sleazy people and they probably wouldn't kill Aelita, but they would kill Jeremie if they had the chance. Dhaune summoned a spell, which affected the bandits even though they were nowhere close to her. She showed them images of their targets, and she waited eagerly as they stood.

 

Jeremie and Aelita were headed back towards camp, and while they walked much closer now, they were still separated because of Laura. Aelita carried the mask while Jeremie carried the gauntlet and a book he insisted she enchant for him so he could take it out of the cave without the ink running. "Maybe with your help, we can translate these pages. Who knows? You may learn about your culture." The Wise Man suggested as he leafed through the pages. It consisted mostly of runes, though it also contained detailed pictures of monsters and what he could only assume were religious images.

Aelita mused aloud. "I wonder if it contains the origin of the lobster," When Jeremie seemed confused, she said, "My hahren Edna always hated lobster. She said that when the Creator designed the lobster, he decreed that it came out wrong, and had his guide Falon'din try it. When Falon'din decreed it a monstrosity, he sent it to the Destructor, who also hated it, and had her guide, Elgar'nan, try it. Well, Elgar'nan didn't like it either, so the Destructor said, 'okay, we'll put this at the bottom of the ocean where nobody will find it'." She held her head and laughed. "I don't know if that's true, but did I ever believe it."

Jeremie laughed too. "Leave it to the humans to find it and eat it, huh?"

They laughed, but they fell silent when they heard something in the thicket. Jeremie stepped in front of Aelita as a dozen bandits emerged from the thicket. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" The bandit dressed in looted iron armor asked, as he approached the teens. Jeremie drew his sword. "Feisty. This will be fun." The bandit laughed.

Jeremie and Aelita dropped the items they carried to prepare for the fight. Jeremie prepared his shield, and Aelita summoned ice between her hands. The bandits prepared their weapons, which ranged anywhere from morning stars to broadswords. Outnumbered six to one, Jeremie tried to figure out a way to avoid a conflict, or at least survive. The only option seemed to be for him to play defense while Aelita moved further away to take on more opponents. He communicated this to Aelita telepathically, and she nodded.

Aelita burst into butterflies and moved further away, and Jeremie sliced at the bandit leader to gain their attention. He was soon swarmed by the bandits, and he struggled to keep up with their repeated strikes. Aelita froze three of the bandits in a column of ice, and some of their adversaries turned to her. "Get 'er hands! I hear they can't do no spells with no hands!" One of them shouted.

"No! I won't let you touch her!" Jeremie shouted, slicing at the bandit's knees, bringing him down so Jeremie could slice at his neck. This was a different feeling than the one he had experienced in Narza—he hoped he wasn't becoming indifferent to death. One of the bandits snuck up behind Jeremie and grabbed him, and before he even had time to scream, his throat had been slit, and the bandit pushed him down.

"Jeremie! No!" Aelita shouted, and suddenly he was entombed in an earthen pyramid. Aelita appeared, which he assumed by magic. She looked at him for a mere second before she placed her hand on his bleeding throat. A red light filled the pyramid, which had started spewing dust as the bandits tried to break in. Jeremie's neck and spine were filled with a burning pain, and he tried to scream. "Calm down! I'm only trying to save you!" Aelita said urgently, and soon, the light faded. Jeremie sat up and held his hand to his neck, which had healed over. Aelita summoned the mask that she'd found in the cave and placed it on his face. "Stay hidden. I'll finish them off."

Aelita sank into the ground as another bandit strike created a crack large enough for Jeremie to see through. He peered through it, unconvinced that he'd witnessed what he had just seen. Aelita had said that when she attempted healing spells, something went wrong. Perhaps that meant that they were painful, unlike the warm tingle of a typical spell?

Outside, Aelita sent boulders at three of the bandits, leaving five remaining. She sent a wall of ice after two of them, but they jumped out of the way. The bandit leader snuck up behind the Outcast, and Jeremie shouted in his mind for her to watch behind her. She spun around, and Jeremie could only watch in horror as the bandit plunged his sword into her gut. The Wise Man pounded his fists against the stones, screaming her name, but Aelita simply started to laugh.

From the center of her chest, Erahalam appeared blade first, and Aelita was cloaked in an aura of fire. The blade ran through the bandit leader's chest, and she pushed against it to draw the rest of the staff out. The Outcast yanked the blade from the bandit's chest, and she slammed Murray the Skull against his head. She stomped on his neck, sending him up in flames. "Witch! Witch!" The remaining bandits shouted in unison, and they swarmed her. The first one who got near enough to touch her had no time to strike, as she manipulated the earth to stand on eye-level with him. She grabbed his forehead, and within seconds he was screaming. His blood vessels grew red hot, and he fell, his blood having melted his insides like magma. Aelita immediately manipulated the blood of one of the three living bandits and forced him to attack another. She focused on the third and froze his blood.

When the bandit she'd manipulated killed his comrade, Aelita released him from her spell and sheathed Erahalam, as if giving him a chance to run. He charged her, and she reached forward and grabbed air. A black, demonic hand severed the Veil and snatched the bandit. She repeated the motion, and a second hand grabbed him. She furrowed her brows as if she were struggling to move her hands, and the bandit screeched. The hands clamped him tighter and ripped him into two pieces.

Aelita fell to her knees, clutching her still bleeding stomach. She closed the wound, clearly in pain, and the fiery aura faded. She was breathing heavily, though she managed to collapse the stone prison that had kept the Wise Man from harm. Jeremie, removing the mask, was without words at the sight before him. Aelita—sweet, innocent Aelita, the girl he'd protected and defended since Laura had first raised her suspicions—had not only used blood magic, but had summoned a demon. "By the gods, she was right," Jeremie breathed, his eyes focused on the stranger before him.

"Jeremie, please," Aelita managed through her pains. "You have to listen to me. I can explain everything!" She pleaded.

Jeremie stood and walked over to her, but he didn't offer to help her stand. "What is there to explain, Aelita?! You're a witch!"

She glared at him, her eyes flashing with a hundred different emotions. "I am not a witch!" She spat, and she pushed herself off the ground. "I am a blood magician, yes, but you have to listen to me!"

"No, why should I listen to you now, after you've lied to me for months about who you are?" Jeremie demanded.

"I never lied to you!" She said defensively. "I… just omitted the truth."

"Which is as bad as lying!" He shouted. He narrowed his eyes, and his arms began to shake. "I defended you, over and over, and you never spoke up, and you never said anything. Gods, Aelita how long were you planning on keeping this a secret?!"

"I was kind of hoping it would just… go away."

"The truth does not just 'go away'!"

Aelita looked at him with a half-hearted smile. "I didn't say it was a good plan!" When his face didn't change, she turned her attention to her feet. Then, she looked back at him, determination on her face. "I may have turned to a form of magic that the shemlen consider evil, but if I hadn't, we'd both have been dead a long time ago!"

Jeremie shook his head. "And that makes everything better?" He shouted. "Aelita, if the magistrates find out, they'll hunt us until the end of our days, and as a citizen of Lyoko, it is my duty to tell them."

Aelita suddenly grabbed his hands. "Please, for the love of the Creator, do not tell the magistrates!" She begged. "You have no idea what they'll do to me! Please, don't turn me in!"

He snatched his hands away. "Then what do you expect me to do, Aelita? I can't just ignore this!"

Aelita took his hands again and guided them to his sword. She wrapped his fingers around it, and she took a few steps back so her neck was at the tip of the blade. "If you cannot allow me to walk free, then kill me where I stand. I would rather die by your hands than live in the shadow of your betrayal."

Jeremie shook, and Aelita closed her eyes and looked to the ground, as if she'd known she would die this way for a long time. Jeremie angrily threw the sword on the ground, and he spun so his back faced her. She looked up, confused. "Go away!" He ordered, unable to look at her. "Go away and don't come back! I don't ever want to see you again!" Aelita reached out to grab his shoulder, but he yanked it away. "I said, go away!"

Aelita sighed. "Ma nuvenin," She whispered. She turned and ran in the opposite direction of camp, and she shifted her form into one of a fox before she disappeared into the wilderness.

When he was sure she had gone, he turned. The road was empty; spare the remains of the bandits. He collected the things they'd gathered in the cave, and he made his way back to camp. He tossed the mask to Yumi. "Aelita wanted to give this to you. She said that it reminded her of you." He explained as she examined it. "It's enchanted. It can make you invisible."

Yumi smiled. "That's really cool,"

William shifted. "Where is Aelita, anyway? Weren't the two of you together?"

Jeremie took a deep breath. "Aelita is a blood magician. I sent her away."

Laura jumped up and celebrated. "Ha! I told you!" She blushed and she looked down at her feet. "I mean, you should have listened to me."

Ulrich glared at the Wise Man. "Let me get this straight. You let Odd stay, even though he's a werewolf, but you force Aelita to go away just because she's a blood magician?" He stood, anger written on his face. "Who cares if she's a blood magician? Aelita is a Hero, and she's our friend! Did you even ask her why she did it?"

"I didn't have to ask, Ulrich!" Jeremie said adamantly. "There is no excuse for blood magic."

He groaned, and he tore at his hair. "Ah! You're such a dick!" Ulrich shouted.

Laura smiled at Jeremie. "I, for one, am glad that you saw reason and sent the knife ear away. She wasn't causing anything but trouble."

Jeremie didn't know if he agreed. He looked up at Laura and asked, "Is your proposal of marriage still open?"

Everyone, including Laura, was startled by Jeremie's change of heart. Odd laughed nervously and said, "Uh, Belpois? Even I don't move on that fast."

Jeremie glared at the Scout then looked back to Laura without a hint of amusement on his face. Instead his expression was one of cold stone and seriousness. "I'm afraid I don't really have anything to give you, though the next time we go into a town, I promise that I'll buy you a ring."

Laura was stunned, but she smiled and said, "Yes, of course!" She moved from one side of the fire to the other to sit next to the Wise Man, who turned his eyes to the leaves of the trees. It had seemed that only this morning the leaves had been lush green, though now, the leaves were turning yellow. Laura smiled at him and said, "It's going to be a lovely autumn this year, I can feel it."


	16. Book 2: Autumn

Book 2: Autumn

Episode 1: Aftershock

28th of Ferventis

The leaves had turned from fading shades of greens to yellows and oranges, though the red and brown leaves had not yet arrived. To keep warm as Lyoko grew colder, the Heroes had layered their clothes. However, no amount of layering could protect them from the cold atmosphere that had spawned around them.

After Aelita had been sent away, the teenagers had fallen into subgroups that took a different stance on her exile. Jeremie, Laura and William were for it, as they knew the dangers a blood magician posed. Ulrich was firmly against it, to the point that he'd spent hours trying to find her, as he knew Aelita would never hurt them. Yumi and Odd were being torn apart, for they were undecided on the issue. On one hand, Aelita was their friend and had shown no animosity towards them, but on the other, she had made a deal with a demon, and there was no telling if she would do it again.

This left the group in an awkward position. All of them, spare Ulrich and William to an extent, walked on eggshells, knowing that one false move would cause the group to shatter. Laura had stopped advising Ulrich about his health, since he would snap at her every time. Yumi and Odd refused to speak of Aelita at all, and for the sake of unity were forced to pretend she hadn't existed in front of the others. Ulrich had stopped speaking to Jeremie altogether—he no longer even turned to Odd or Yumi to pass messages as he had in the beginning, nor did Jeremie offer reconciliation by checking in on Aelita.

Not that he could have anyway. Aelita had found a way—the Wise Man wasn't sure how—to block him from her mind. Evidently, she did not want to be found, wherever she had gone. Wherever she was though, she wasn't far away—she'd arrived one night and collected some of her things, and she had put leaves in the fire, making the camp smell like the branches of a vhenadahl.

On this morning, Jeremie had found three violet hyacinths on his chest. These flowers were commonly used when asking for forgiveness and he held them delicately in his hands, thumbing the purple petals. Was Aelita asking for forgiveness from him? He tried to contact her telepathically, and he managed to get a glimpse of the opening of a cave, probably carved into the side of a cliff. However, she pushed him out of her head almost instantly. He sighed and studied the hyacinths, pulled back to reality only by his fiancée grabbing his shoulder.

"What have you got there?" She asked as she took the flowers from his hands, which he protested slightly before placing his hands back in his lap. "Have you done something that you intend to apologize for?" Laura asked, her tone suggestive, but Jeremie didn't pick up on it.

"No, I think Aelita brought them to me in the night." Jeremie said quietly so as to not attract the attention of the other Heroes.

Laura tightened her grip on the flower stems. "How does she keep getting back to camp?" She asked angrily, "we should double our sentries."

Jeremie shook his head. "I don't think she's doing this to hurt us, Laura. She just wants to be close. Besides, she shapeshifts; she'd just take an animal form and sneak past them."

Laura sighed. "I suppose you're right. Still, we should make it clear that she isn't welcome here." She tossed the hyacinths into the flame, which Jeremie considered protesting, though ultimately he decided not to. Instead he watched them burn, the orange flame curling the lovely violet petals before consuming them, leaving nothing but ashes and smoke.

Half an hour later, William doused the fire while Yumi and Ulrich packed up the aravel. The group pressed forward. Jeremie walked by Laura's side, though his eyes were focused on the northern horizon, where he could see the mists rolling in from the cliffs. William marched behind them, his eyes scanning the trees for threats. Ulrich walked on the other side of the aravel, his hands twitching near his katanna. Yumi and Odd were at the very back, and the Colonist sighed in frustration. "This has gone on for long enough." She said firmly.

Odd shrugged. "I agree, but what can we do? Even if Aelita's return would force them to make up, we don't know where she is."

Yumi shook her head. "I don't know." She looked back up at the road, and she whispered, "I have a feeling, though, that she will return when the time is right."

"We can only hope."

 

It was late, though Jeremie insisted that they keep moving, since the map showed a town nearby. Odd tried to convince Jeremie that stopping in that town would cause misery, but Jeremie stood firm, saying that even a town filled with wicked people deserved to be warned about Xana's advances. So they kept moving, trudging onwards through the steadily darkening forest.

The sun was beginning to set behind the far-off mountains, and Odd was preparing to go "hunting"; the full moon was rising again. However, he stopped when he heard footsteps. Their steps sounded like magistrates, though they were a larger group—magistrates tended not to run in groups of more than three or four, yet Odd counted six distinct footsteps. "Magistrates headed our way."

Ulrich glared at Jeremie, William and Laura. "If any of you mention Aelita, I swear that I will cut you down where you stand."

The magistrates arrived minutes later, obviously impatient. The leader examined the faces of the teens, and he ordered his men to attack. The group did their best to fight them off, and Ulrich even managed to kill one of them, but they'd been taken by surprise, and it wasn't long before the magistrates had tied them up and forced them to their knees. "What is the meaning of this? I demand an explanation!"

The magistrate shook his head. "We got word from one of our sister outposts that the Veil was torn open by a witch, and that they found dead guards on the road with obvious signs of victimization at the hands of blood magic." He crossed his arms. "They did a bit of investigating, and they found traces of your camp nearby. After you crossed out of their district, we took over and tracked you here. Which one of you is the witch?"

Jeremie seemed confused. "Yes, we were in that area, but those weren't guards, and she… the witch is gone." He admitted.

The magistrate shook his head. "Lies, all lies!" He declared. He paced back forth as he elaborated. "Do you think the magistrates would be so clumsy as to mistake someone for a guard? And they found no evidence that the witch left your company!" He stopped pacing and bent to look Jeremie in the eyes. "Now, you know what they did find? An old tome written by witches to increase the abilities of those who prey on mortals. Now, why would a group of teenagers need that kind of book unless they are harboring a blood magician?"

Laura spoke now. "You don't know who you're dealing with! I am princess of Lyoko! I will not tolerate my friends and I being treated this way!"

The magistrate looked at her. "Perhaps, then, you should be worried about keeping a hold on your kingdom and not on protecting a witch."

She narrowed her eyes. "What have you heard?"

"There have been problems in the province of Replika ever since the Great Colony War, though your father has always managed to keep control of it." One of the other magistrates explained. "However, there have been reports of… unrest in the east since the drow attacked. The elves there have grown bolder, and unhappy revolutionists have driven the soldiers and the magistrates out of Cortex. It won't be long before all of Replika is involved in the Revolution."

Laura was surprised that the revolutionists of Replika had chosen now as the time to revolt, but she couldn't say she was surprised that they'd done it. Replika was never really under Lyoko's control, though they did abide by Lyoko's laws whether they liked it or not. She feared what would happen if the rebels aligned themselves with the drow.

William had a different concern. "How did you know about the dark elves?" He asked. "Did the magistrates tell you about them?"

"Yes and no," The helpful magistrate explained. "We've felt a disturbance in the Veil for a while now, though we hardly thought anything of it. The Veil in this district is notoriously thin anyway. However, the disturbances were getting stronger and more frequent, so we knew something was awake. Our brothers did tell us about Xana, though."

The leader stared at him. "If you're done flapping your lips, we have a job to do." He turned his attention to the Heroes. "If you won't tell us which one of you is the witch that murdered the guards, then we will do this the hard way. We'll keep you here all night if we have to, and for every hour that passes, we will kill one of you. Eventually, you will tell us, or you'll all be dead. Seems fair enough, no?" He laughed as the sun made him appear to glow. It had almost hidden completely behind the mountains. Yumi looked nervously to Odd, who was tied up beside her.

He trembled as the moon began to call to him. The hair on his arms was growing thicker at an alarming rate, and she could only hope that the magistrates wouldn't notice. Even if they didn't, eventually the moon would change his form entirely, and the magistrates would kill them all for hiding a werewolf from them.

For fifteen minutes, the teens sat in silence as Jeremie tried in vain to convince them that the blood magician was gone. He tried to convince them that the "guards" were bandits, though the magistrate simply called him a fool for trying to trick him. Odd hung his head, trying to hide his increasingly obvious transformation—or, at least it was obvious to Yumi. She bit her lip. Either they would all be killed by the magistrates for keeping secrets, or someone would have to agree to go with them to save the others. "It's me!" Yumi shouted, trying her best to make it sound like the pressure had broken her. "I'm the witch! I killed the guards! Take me away, but don't hurt the others!"

"Yumi, don't! Have you gone mad?" Ulrich shouted, shocked. She looked at him and nodded.

She turned her attention back to the magistrate. "I will go with you. Please, leave them be."

"Smart girl. Come on, now. You're coming with us." The leader of the magistrates grabbed Yumi's bound hands and forced her away from camp. "Leave the others. No doubt they'll want revenge for us stealing away their damager."

The magistrates left the camp while the teenagers struggled against their bindings. Odd, however, seemed more preoccupied by the moon. He struggled to hold back the wolf-blood, though soon it overpowered him and he howled, his eyes turning orange and fierce. His body shifted, his clothes ripped and his arms were freed from his bonds. He stood up and freed his friends. In a low, menacing growl, he spoke, "We must rescue Yumi. We've entered into Knight Templar Thomas Vincent's district, and he does not tolerate blood magicians, especially those without roots in Lyoko."

Jeremie stood, amazed. "You can speak in werewolf form? You never could before."

"This may be a side effect of being exposed to the Codex. It doesn't matter; we're wasting time." Odd growled, and the Heroes nodded. They'd wasted ten minutes after Yumi had been taken by the magistrates—certainly they had to catch up before the magistrates reached their outpost.

Yumi heard Odd's quickened pace, and she turned to look in his direction, though the magistrate forced her to turn her head around. The werewolf howled when he caught their scent, and it was only then that the corrupt magistrates bothered to turn around. "Werewolf! Werewolf! Prepare the silver!" The leader shouted, and the magistrates sheathed their steel swords in favor of silver weapons. "You there! Keep going! Don't let the witch get away!"

The magistrate nodded, and he dragged Yumi off towards the outpost, even though everyone knew that they weren't close. Behind him he could vaguely hear the others get into a blocking formation over the sounds of Yumi struggling to break free of his grasp. She dug her feet into the ground, stumbling herself and forcing her captor to stop and yank her up.

Odd appeared and pounced on the smallest of the magistrates, tearing out his throat before the man could even try to attack. The other magistrates swarmed him, striking with their silver weapons. Odd roared in pain as the silver tainted weapons left horrible looking burn marks across his skin then turned and slapped them aside with his great arm. As the disoriented magistrates struggled to rise in their steel plate armor Odd turned and roared in the face of the leader. Undaunted, the leader sliced at Odd's snout, causing the blood vessels in one eye to burst and creating a burning scar near his mouth.

"Run! Get the others!" Yumi shouted at the werewolf, as she continued struggling against her captor, knowing that by doing this she could very well doom him.

He looked at her. "They are coming!" He roared just before ripping out the throat of a nearby magistrate. He tackled the obviously dead man and ripped at his chest, throwing pieces of flesh over his shoulders.

Yumi cringed, both at his twisted voice and at his display. An owl landed on her hands and started ripping at the rope. She struggled to get her head to an angle where she could see it, but all she could tell was that it looked like a barn owl, elegant with white-gold feathers. It looked at her through wise, green eyes. "Aelita?" She whispered, and the owl cooed. The magistrate, pulled from his shocked stare at the werewolf ripping his comrades to bloody shreds, roughly shooed the owl away. 'Too late,' Yumi thought towards her captor as she tested her bindings and felt that the ropes had been weakened. The others appeared and joined the fight, with Ulrich and William fighting the leader.

Yumi spun and struck the magistrate binding her, though her success was only enough to guarantee her freedom. She reached for the mask that now rested at her side, but the magistrate caught her hands. While they struggled against one another, the leader of the magistrates shouted, "Don't bother bringing her to the outpost! Get rid of her. NOW!"

With a mighty shove the magistrate threw Yumi to the ground and unsheathed his sword. Yumi scrambled backwards as he advanced until she could pull herself into a standing position. Her opponent lunged forward and she twirled out of the way. Using her momentum she continued spinning, grabbing the Magistrate's armor and pushing him forward as she moved behind him. Her telekinesis ripped the sword away from her attacker before a strong punch from a steel gauntlet ripped away her focus.

Coughing, she forced herself to fall back, but in the wrong direction. The magistrate advanced, his plate armor rendering Yumi's attacks fruitless as he pushed her to the edge of the cliff. Ulrich spotted this and sprinted her way. "No!" He shouted as the magistrate pushed Yumi over the side of the cliff, and she screamed. Ulrich drove his katanna through the magistrate's neck, and he looked over the cliff. "YUMI!" He shouted. An owl swooped over his head, and it changed form, but it happened too quickly for Ulrich to identify the person. He had a guess, though.

The person grabbed Yumi, and a boulder came flying from the cliff on the opposite side of the divide. There was spinning, and the boulder struck the shapeshifter, sending them both into the cliff, where they vanished from sight. Ulrich could only imagine they'd been forced into a cave. He sighed, relieved, then looked up at the other Heroes, who had finished off the magistrates, and smiled at them. "She's alright!" Ulrich informed them, causing the group to release a collective sigh.

The Heroes joined Ulrich by the side of the cliff, and Jeremie noted aloud that he'd seen the place before. Yumi peered warily out of the cave. "Down here, hurry! Send Laura!" She shouted up at them.

Laura peered over the edge and sighed. "I hope you don't expect me to climb down there! I'm no good at rock climbing!" Odd instead hung over the side of the cliff, almost monkey-like in his posture, and he offered a strong, clawed hand to the Fair. "Oh, for the love of Minerva." She muttered as she took Odd's hand. The werewolf swung her carefully, and threw her into the cave.

Yumi helped her into the cave, and near the back, she saw a figure. "She needs your help, Laura. I think she may be dying." Yumi said gravely, and Laura rushed to the figure's side.

She glared at Yumi when she recognized the face. "What is the meaning of this?"

The Colonist narrowed her eyes. "Aelita is our friend, and a Hero! She saved my life, and I think she's due the same courtesy!"

Laura huffed, admitting defeat. She studied the Outcast's body. She'd changed her robes, going from her short clothes to a dress with slits up the side, and chainmail beneath. Attached to mithril hoops on her shoulders was a ratty old brown cloak, and hanging from her side was a dirty white sheet, obviously serving as a carrying case for her things. Aelita's face was covered in tiny scars, like she'd been in a fight with a small animal. Perhaps she had been; the Fair had no way of knowing. Her ribs were dented strangely. "I can heal the scars on her face, though I am reluctant to; they aren't life threatening. However, I believe her ribs may be broken, which could prove harmful if left unchecked." She sighed. "I can set them for now, but I'm a priest, not a doctor. I can't heal broken bones. Only time can do that."

Yumi pressed her hands together. "There must be something we can do! She'll die if we do nothing!" She looked at her hands, her eyes filled with worry. "Gods, I don't know what I'll do if she dies because of me!"

Laura thought for a while. "Maybe we can do something. It's risky, and it may cause some more damage, but it may also save her." She tried to sound helpful, but Yumi noted the bitterness behind her voice. She explained her plan—the two of them would carry Aelita to the edge of the cliff, and then Jeremie would use his telepathy to strengthen Yumi's telekinesis. Then, Odd, since he was the strongest due to his current form, would carry Aelita to the aravel, where they would take her to the next town they came to.

Yumi agreed, and though Aelita put up a fight when Laura touched her, she obviously knew that her life was on the line. The human girls carried the Outcast to the edge of the cliff, where Jeremie and Yumi collectively helped her to the top. Odd passed her off to Ulrich, since William refused to touch her, and then the werewolf helped the human girls back up.

The Heroes returned to the aravel. Aelita was silent, probably due to her pain. She made one small gesture, however—she waved Jeremie closer to her, and presented him with another violet hyacinth. He took it, and she smiled at him, though his face did not change. Sensing the tension had not dissolved yet, Aelita frowned and averted her eyes.

Odd placed Aelita on one of the cots inside of the aravel, and the group tried to calm Rorkal, still shaken by Odd's transformation. "We must turn back. There's a town about a day back." Ulrich said firmly.

"We can't go back! The magistrates want us there! Don't you think that they've got others looking for us?" Jeremie disagreed, a poor start to the first conversation they'd had in days. "The best we can do is move forward and hope the news hasn't reached them!" The animosity between them was almost visible, and Jeremie sighed. "Listen, I wouldn't normally suggest going there, due to our current company and since I sent William to deliver a message so we could avoid it, but if we hurry, we can reach Falcon's Bridge by morning."

Ulrich narrowed his eyes, but he nodded. "Very well. I'm going to watch over Aelita; I don't want her condition to get any worse."

He stormed into the aravel, and he jerked as it began to move. "I missed the sound of the creaking aravel." Aelita murmured, and Ulrich approached her.

"We missed you. Well, most of us." Ulrich sat down next to her. That was the same spot Jeremie had sat in when Dhaune had lied in their aravel, but this time was different. This was Aelita, not the heartless she-bitch who'd hurt Yumi. This was the gentle Kitten that Jeremie had barked at and driven away. "You saved Yumi's life, Aelita. You should be proud, not moping." He teased her.

She looked up at the ceiling of the aravel, and then out the window. She tried to sit up, as if to open it, but Ulrich gently pushed her down and opened it for her. "I saved Jeremie's life, too, on that day, but I am no more proud of that than I am of this or anything in my life." She sighed. "Everyone I care for thinks that I'm a monster."

"You aren't a monster, Kitten. You're my sister." Ulrich said with a smile. She smiled back weakly, though it vanished quickly. "We're taking you to Falcon's Bridge. With any luck, the doctors there—"

"No!" Aelita shouted suddenly, jerking up and startling the Mercenary. "We cannot go to Falcon's Bridge! I cannot go to Falcon's Bridge!"

"What's wrong? Why can't you go to Falcon's Bridge?"

She rolled her head so she wasn't looking at him, as if this would hide her shame. "If we go to Falcon's Bridge, you won't like me anymore."

Ulrich laughed. "Oh, Kitten. That could never happen. Besides, I'd rather see you alive." He smiled. "Maybe you should get some rest. I'll watch over you, and I won't let any harm come to you."

"If only words could make it so, lethallin."

 

29th of Ferventis

The Heroes reached Falcon's Bridge just as the early morning rabble began. They were stopped at the beginning of the bridge that led into town. It was built to resemble a falcon, hence the name of the town. Their adversary, a dwarf in iron armor carrying a battleax stood at the bridge before them. He had short brown hair and scruff on his chin, as well as a bandage wrapped under his eye and around his head. "Veata, travelers. My name is Jim Morales, and I'm captain of the guard here. Do you have any wilders with you, or is this aravel looted from dead ones?"

Yumi spoke. "Are wilders not allowed into Falcon's Bridge?" She asked.

"For the most part, no. Not since that episode five years ago, but I'd rather not talk about it." He crossed his arms. "However, the mayor leaves it to me to decide who gets into town or not. If you have wilders with you, I will decide if they can enter."

"We are travelling with a wilder, but she is injured and in need of a doctor." Odd explained. "She's inside of the aravel."

Jim and Jeremie entered the aravel, where Ulrich looked up at them. Aelita was asleep on the cot, though every now and then her breathing appeared pained. "By the gods! Is that…?" Jim rushed to Aelita's side. He examined her, and he exclaimed, "It is! That's Maya Tyron!"

Jeremie furrowed his brows. "What? No, that's Aelita Stone-Hopper. She's a wilder. Maya Tyron is a human name."

Jim glared at him." Maya Tyron was a close friend of my great-nephew, Murray. I saw her almost every day since her parents came back from their trip to Replika, though admittedly it has been five years since I last saw her. Regardless, how many elves do you know with pink hair?"

Ulrich looked at Jeremie. "Aelita did say that she didn't want to come here, and that I wouldn't like her anymore if we did."

Jim looked at Ulrich. "Her parents, Eleanor and Lowel Tyron, still live here with their other daughter, Milly. I'm sure they'll be very excited to see her again."

Jim escorted the Heroes into town and to an apartment building, despite Ulrich and Yumi's protests that they bring her first to a doctor. He pointed them to the third floor, and consoled Ulrich and Yumi that Lowel was a doctor and could help her. Unsure of what they would find when they reached the apartment they were headed for, the teenagers nervously climbed the stairs. Jeremie knocked on the door, and a human woman, probably in her late thirties, with long strawberry red hair answered. At first she seemed happy to receive visitors, but when she looked at Aelita, she covered her eyes. "Oh, for the love of Juno, please tell me that skinny, tanned thing with messy hair and ears exposed is not my daughter."


	17. Autumn 2

Episode 2: the Outcast's Past

29th of Ferventis

Aelita bolted up and immediately grabbed her ribs as she huffed in pain. It took a few moments of controlled, labored breathing before she remembered why. Boulders hurt, she recalled, before looking out of the window to see that either much time had passed and it was nightfall again, or that no time had passed and morning had never come. She struggled to pull herself out of her bed. Her bed? She looked down to see the dusty white sheets from so long ago, and she started quaking in anticipation. Forcing herself out of bed and summoning Erahalam to give support, she limped over to the mirror near the door. It was as she thought—Aelita had returned to the apartment in Falcon's Bridge, and Eleanor's influence could already be seen. Her hair had been covered in a white bonnet, her facial markings covered with makeup and her traditional elven clothes had been swapped for a white blouse, a dark green skirt and a white apron, as well as a pair of light green shoes. Aelita leaned against the wall, kicked off her shoes and ripped the right sleeve off of her blouse to show her arm markings. She leaned against Erahalam again as she rubbed the makeup off her face and yanked the bonnet from her head.

The indignity of her state of dress corrected, the Outcast limped out of the bedroom, intending to flee Falcon's Bridge before the sun rose. She stopped when she saw Jeremie and Ulrich waiting at the table, blocking her exit. Jeremie seemed less than pleased, as did Ulrich, though the Mercenary's displeasure was aimed at the Wise Man. Aelita sighed as she looked down to her toes. "I guess you want some answers, huh?" She said as she sat down across from the boys.

"You 'guess' we want answers? You 'guess'?" Jeremie shouted, though he lowered his voice upon seeing her flinch. "When we arrived, the guard captain—Jim—he called you Maya Tyron and directed us to Lowel and Eleanor. When Eleanor answered the door, she recognized you? What's going on? Who are you?" His hands were shaking. Aelita prayed it was from the cold autumn air and not because of her.

"Enough, Jeremie." Ulrich said firmly.

Aelita sighed again, and she was silent for a long time. "This is difficult to explain. I thought I was ready, but I guess I wasn't." She looked up at Jeremie. "I am not Maya Tyron. Not anymore. Maya Tyron is the name of a girl who was stolen in the night and replaced by someone else. Maya Tyron is the name of an elf who tried far too hard to be something that she couldn't be, and was punished when she tried to make others see it too." Aelita looked back to her twitching fingers. "Maya Tyron is dead. I am still living, but barely."

Ulrich looked at Jeremie sharply, but then to Aelita. "Please, Kitten. Just… start at the beginning."

The Outcast looked away for a moment, but then she looked back to the boys. "I… guess it started in 4:91 East." She said.

Jeremie looked at her skeptically. "Unless I've missed something, you couldn't have been more than a baby at the time."

"Exactly." She said, and she half-smiled with a faint glimmer of hope in her green eyes. "And perhaps I should explain… why I left, and why I've done the things I have."

The Wise Man narrowed his eyes. "You had better."

His tone like daggers, she flinched and began. "This is how I understand it to have happened."

 

18th of Molioris, 4:91 East

Eleanor was young, only recently having reached her twenty-first birthday. It was a miracle that the baby had been born—she and Lowel had been married for four years now and her parents were beginning to wonder if she was infertile. But she held this blessed baby in her arms. She looked like Eleanor with her strawberry red hair and light green eyes, her features sharp and not altogether unpleasant. It was far too soon to know if baby Maya would keep looking like Eleanor, though she felt in her bones that Maya would grow to be the spitting image of her mother.

She held Maya high over her head and then brought her back close her chest, holding the baby with all the tender motherly love that she could possibly give. She danced over to the crib inside of the wagon she and Lowel were taking to Cortex. Then, she joined her husband, and they slept.

There was a ruckus near midnight, and Lowel woke to find two dark figures standing next to the crib. He shouted at them, and Eleanor slowly awoke. Lowel jumped and chased after the figures as they ran, though one turned and twisted the earth around Lowel's feet. He used his own magic to make the earth collapse, and while he was about to continue the chase, Eleanor screamed, and he rushed back to the wagon.

Eleanor had collapsed next to the crib, sobbing. Lowel looked into the crib and gasped. The figures had been elves, and they'd stolen their daughter and replaced her with an elven baby. But this baby was strange, not only in her heritage, but in the fact that she did not cry. She lay whimpering, and her large green eyes were filled with tears, but she was otherwise silent. "Those bitch-born knife ears!" Eleanor cursed, crying enough for her and the baby. "Why would they do this?" Lowel swore rather loudly, and he lifted the baby out of the crib. He carried her out of the wagon, and Eleanor stood to follow him. She gasped when her husband held the baby over the nearby river, and she yanked the elf-child from his hands. "What are you doing? You can't just kill her!"

"Can't I? The elves must learn that this will not be tolerated! This is the third child they've stolen this year, and it's only Molioris!" Lowel shouted, though the elf-child still would not cry.

Eleanor was holding the child, but not in the same way she'd held Maya. "Do you have any idea how bad we'll look if we show up in Cortex without a baby? My mother has been looking forward to this for months!"

"Oh? She'd rather see a knife-ear than hear that the elves stole our child?" Lowel questioned.

His wife glared at him. "Plenty of functioning families involve changelings, Lowel." She looked down at the whimpering elf-child. "Let's just… give it a shot. Please?"

Lowel stared at his wife for a moment, and he sighed. "Very well." Eleanor smiled, but there was still pain behind her eyes.

 

15th of Eluviesta, 5:03 Guardian

Maya Tyron, now ten years old, flinched as the sun shone in through her window. She sighed, as she had done every morning for what had felt like eternity. Maya pulled herself out of bed and dressed quickly then braided her long pink hair. She looked at her reflection and blew a strand of hair from her eyes before pulling the bonnet over her ears. She pulled her apron over her dress and started on her chores, sweeping before she started a fire to boil the water she would use in the tea. By the time Lowel, Eleanor and Milly had awoken, Maya had breakfast ready and she'd cleaned the kitchen.

Lowel started listing the other things she was to do that day, and she was only half-paying attention to him. Instead she was focusing on the singing birds outside of the apartment, and the clouds visible through the blooming branches. It looked like it might rain, she noted. "Maya, are you paying attention to me?" Lowel demanded.

"What? Oh, yes, Father." Maya lied, and she returned her attention to the window. Her parents entered the sitting room and Milly sat near the windowsill, looking outside and sadly at the chrysanthemum bud potted and placed on the windowsill. Milly had put it there several days earlier, but still it had not bloomed. Maya looked nervously to her parents before holding her hand out and summoning her magic. Lowel and Eleanor did not allow her to practice her magic at all, not even from the safety of their apartment, but she found ways to sneak practice, though admittedly in her six years of knowing about her skill she had not gotten any better with it.

Maya focused on the chrysanthemum, and she thought of it in bloom. Slowly, the bud began to open, and Milly sat up and smiled at her sister. Eleanor looked up, and Maya dropped her hand, which caused the flower to wilt. When her mother looked away, Maya focused on the flower again at Milly's encouragement. However, she put too much magic into it, and the roots shattered the pot. Maya flinched as her parents shouted at her for using her magic. Milly shrugged with an apologetic look on her face.

The humans left about an hour later, leaving Maya alone in the apartment. She dutifully completed her chores, and a pebble hit the window. Maya looked questioningly at the window, and she opened it. Outside, a dwarf with shoulder-length brown hair and peach fuzz stood outside, and he waved at her. He pointed over his shoulder to the carriage behind him. "Get in, salroka! We're going shopping!"

Maya smiled and shouted, "Murray!" She dropped her feather duster and rushed down the stairs. He held open the carriage door for her, and she curtsied before jumping inside. "So, are we really going shopping or am I just giving you advice on what clothes I think will impress Edwina?" Maya teased.

Murray laughed. "Advice, of course! Remember what your parents did last time you went shopping?" His tone was jocular, but the memory hurt. Maya had 'borrowed' money from the family collection to buy a doll—she'd never owned one, and it hadn't cost more than a few coppers—and Lowel had been very angry. He'd thrown it into the fire. "I'm sorry, Maya. I didn't mean to bring it up."

"It wasn't your fault." Maya said flatly.

The friends were silent in the carriage until Murray looked up and presented her with a painting of three men—a human who looked like Ben, a minstrel in the Hunter's Meadhall, run by their friend Eva Skinner's mother, a dwarf who looked like a younger version of Murray's father, Chris and an elf. "An old friend of my father's is coming to town today. He and Ben used to travel with this wilder named Nico, before his clan called for him."

Maya grabbed the painting. "I've never met another elf before, not even a city elf. A wilder is coming to Falcon's Bridge?"

"Yeah, they're giving an outdoor concert for the Feast Day festival." Murray explained.

"That won't be for several months, at least."

"These things take time to plan."

Maya looked at Nico's face on the painting, and then she placed the painting next to her feet. "My parents will never let me meet him."

"Then don't ask!" Murray advised. "Nico and his sister, Edna, are coming to the Meadhall today to make plans for the festival. You can speak to them there."

"Murray… I don't know about this."

"Come on, salroka. All you've got to do is play him a song, and he'll be crazy about you."

Sighing, Maya agreed to meet with the elves. Murray ordered the carriage driver to take them to the Meadhall, where they waited for the wilders to arrive. Ben and Chris waved to the two as they began their next song. Ben and Chris often played together, and it always sounded beautiful. They were able to create a variety of auras, from excitement to complacency to patriotism, and Maya had learned everything she knew about music by watching and copying them. Her normally clumsy fingers were as elegant as swans on the strings of a lute.

Maya strummed on an imaginary lute as the doors to the Meadhall swung open. Two elves with brown hair entered, and they were clearly different than everyone else. They walked with a sort of swagger, and neither one of them wore shoes. The man wore a green jacket with strange patterns embroidered on the back, and the woman wore a long tan coat with a hood. On her back was a staff with a skull on the top, and Maya concluded the woman was a magician. The man hugged Ben and Chris, and he motioned to the woman behind him. Chris called his son forward, and Murray instructed Maya to stay put.

They spoke for a while, and the woman took her eyes away from the others to watch Maya with great interest. Soon, she sat next to her, and she smiled. "Andaran atish'an, da'len. Are… you Maya? The girl that Murray told Nico about in his letter?"

Maya nodded. Unable to tear her eyes away from the woman's face, Maya studied the patterns that seemed tattooed there. They were circular, making the woman look almost feral, though the gentle look never left her eyes. Maya trusted this woman, though she knew that it was dangerous to do so. "Are you Edna?"

"Yes, I am indeed Hahren Edna, the leader of the Aloten clan." The woman gestured to herself. She collected a lute from her brother and presented it to Maya. "Murray told me that you play music. Please, show me."

Maya nodded, and she began to pluck the strings, creating a simple and bubbly tune. Edna closed her eyes and absorbed the music, and when she'd picked up on the tune, she began to hum along with the lute. Murray tapped his foot like a metronome, and Eva stopped doing her chores around the Meadhall to listen to Maya play.

When she stopped, Edna opened her eyes and smiled at her. "You are very talented. Your parents must be proud."

Maya shook her head. "My parents don't let me practice music, or dancing, or magic. They say that invites demons into my head."

Edna's face twisted in confusion, and she said, "Music and dancing do not invite spirits of any kind, unless it is those of joy." She looked far away. "I can understand their reservations about magic. The People certainly have been… liberal with our deals with the spirits, but we have had magic for a long time, and most magicians understand which spirits to deal with and which not to. But an untrained magician is a worse threat to anyone than a blood magician could ever be."

Maya sighed. "I wish you could tell them that. They do not understand."

Edna considered this. "You cannot go without training, da'len. Has anyone shown you any magic?"

"I have taught myself some, though I am not very good. Just this morning I shattered a clay pot trying to make a flower bloom."

"I will train you in magic, da'len. My brother can train you in music. There is nothing to be afraid of in either world, you will see. With luck, maybe others will see, too."

"Are you using me to make the humans understand the wilders better?" Maya questioned.

"Of course not. But if it helps, I cannot be faulted." Edna smiled and added, "You won't hurt my feelings if you say no, da'len."

She looked at her shoes, and then back up to Edna. "Okay. But my parents cannot know about it."

"I shall not say a word."

 

23rd of Eluviesta

Maya had snuck out of her home that night to meet the elves in their camp. It was a six-minute walk out of town and into the forest, and she was surprised to find their land ships in a semicircle around the campfire. Edna had said the Aloten clan was small, and that most of the elves had not wished to visit a human town. There were about fifteen elves around the campfire, and Edna waved her over.

There was no magic lesson that night, Edna had said, nor would there be a music lesson. That night, she would be educated in a different aspect of elven life—ancient stories. There were children's stories, claims created within the clan, like Edna's infamous lobster story or the newer story about how a human woman was raised by the elves—a changeling just like Maya—and sent back into the human world to prove her worth, ending up marrying a young prince and creating a kingdom far, far away in the south.

But there were other stories, ancient stories dating back to the ancient kings of Elvhenan, and Maya found that these stories were much more compelling. Edna spoke of the deal with the Goblin King, and the children clutched their toys graciously while they looked lovingly at their mothers. Edna spoke of the destinies written in the stars, and of the ancient holidays long forgotten because of the human invasion.

Maya found herself wanting a life among the People. She learned that night that Edna's previous apprentice, a young boy, had been found kidnapped, tortured and killed by unknown assailants, and she was in need of a new one. Maya begged for Edna to accept her as the new apprentice.

Edna, surprisingly, did not seem overjoyed by this idea. "It isn't that I don't love you or enjoy your company, da'len, but even if you come with us willingly, your parents will claim that we kidnapped you. Furthermore, you haven't been confirmed, and your name is… not elven. Many of the People will not trust you, not even among the Aloten clan."

"I can change my name! I can become confirmed! Please, hahren, I want to be an elf, not a slave or the obedient housewife of an abusive husband!" Maya begged.

Edna looked into Maya's eyes. There was such desire, such hunger for belonging that she could not say no. "When is your name day, da'len?"

"My parents say it is the 18th of Molioris."

Edna rubbed her chin. "Bloomingtide, eh? Very well. On the 18th of Bloomingtide, I will confirm you. You shall be given a proper elven name and I will teach you the Vir Tanadahl. You will be a bit late, but your eagerness to learn may give you a leg up."

"Thank you, hahren!" Maya breathed, embracing the elf.

Edna smiled and pushed Maya's hair from her face. "No, da'len. If you are to be one of us, you shall say 'ma serannas' when showing gratitude."

"Ma serannas!" Maya laughed into Edna's arms.

 

18th of Molioris

Confirmation was a long process. Maya had to repeat many phrases and light candles while reciting the Vir Tanadahl: "Vir Assan; fly straight and do not waver. Vir Bor'assan; bend but never break. Vir Adahlen; together we are stronger than the one. We are the last of the elvhenan, and never again shall we submit." That wasn't even the painful part. The painful part was the tattooing of the symbol of the Creation Father on her back—Edna had said this was a choice and not every elf did it, but Maya had wanted it done. She did not regret this decision, only that she had refused the pain killing potion her hahren had offered. The symbol was a small one, a pale green archaic hawk holding a rose in its claws. That evening, Maya went through a process that few others had to—the renaming ceremony.

It was that night Maya had unofficially changed her name from Maya Tyron to Aelita Durgenbora, or in the human lands, Stone-Hopper. She still answered to Maya around her family, and she never told them about her confirmation or her plan to run away with the Aloten clan.

 

4th of Matrinalis

Edna demonstrated to Aelita the secrets of the Creator's Sight. This was not something Maya would have needed, but Aelita found it very useful. It had taken Edna an hour to coax Aelita back to her after she'd discovered the forest had accepted her. "Aelita, look around you. What do you see? What do you hear?"

Aelita did as she was instructed. "I see the trees, and I see the sky. I hear the birds chirping, and I think I hear Nico playing a song."

"Good. Now, close your eyes and open your heart to the Garden. What do you feel?"

She looked strangely at her hahren, but she obeyed. "I feel… the heartbeat of the trees. And… I feel their roots twisting under my feet."

Edna smiled, but it was weak. Aelita felt in her heart that she'd disappointed her. "As you get used to the Creator's Sight, you will come to understand better how to use this ability, and it will grow stronger." Aelita hung her head in shame, feeling like a newborn child in her ineptitude. "Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, da'len. Your parents have treated you like a human for so long, this sense has grown dull. Imagine only eating porridge your entire life. How dull would your tongue be?"

Aelita sighed. "That analogy works wonderfully until you eat something amazing, like… I don't know… cocoa imported from the south."

"Don't overthink it." Edna said flatly. Suddenly she stopped, and she asked, "Did you hear that?"

Aelita curled up her nose. "No,"

"But I did. Come; follow me." Edna and Aelita raced through the forest, the novelty of the Creator's Sight distracting the younger elf from paying attention to where she was running. She almost ran over Edna, who had stopped to examine one of the clan's hunters. He'd been badly wounded, and judging by the patterns of the wounds, Edna could only guess that magistrates had been sent to warn the elves that their presence was unwanted. "Elgar'nan, if we don't do something quickly, he'll die." Edna cursed.

"You have magic, don't you? Use that!" Aelita said, motioning to the hunter.

Edna shook her head and then took her staff, Erahalam, from her back. She placed the skull on the hunter's forehead, and a bright flash blinded all three of the elves. When Aelita opened her eyes, the hunter was healed of all his wounds, and he stood, complaining only that he was stiff. Edna instructed him to return to camp, but to pace himself. Then, she looked to Aelita and smiled. "Come, da'len. We still have much to do before you must return to the apartment."

 

19th of Matrinalis

Aelita played a complex tune on the lute, her fingers a blur as they plucked the strings. When she finished, she smiled at Nico, who had been more willing to show her the ancient songs after she joined the clan officially. After Aelita had finished her song, Nico asked her to put the lute down. "Edna asked me to teach you a new song, one that will befit you once you have taken her place as Hahren."

She smiled and said, "Oh, good! What kind of song is it?"

Nico didn't smile back. "It isn't a happy song, da'len. It's beautiful, but not happy." He struggled to explain it. "Are you aware of how it seems the heroes in fairy tales seem immortal?"

She flushed and looked to her feet, which were bare when she was outside of the city, just like how she let her hair fly out of their braids in the woods. "Um… my parents never let me 'indulge' in 'such idle fantasies.'"

He frowned, but he said, "I should have expected that answer." He rubbed his temple. "You see… a long time ago, in the days of Elvhenan, the elves were immortal, and when the elders grew weary of life, they entered a time called Uthenera. The elves are no longer immortal, and the song sung then is now used for funerals."

Aelita cocked her head. "You're teaching me funeral rites?"

"Yes. It is important that you know them. They're the same for drow and surface elves, and it isn't uncommon for city elves to ask the Hahren of a clan to perform funeral rites on important members of their society." Nico stood, and he sang the elven eulogy. It was a beautiful sad song, and Aelita struggled on the elven words, her tongue not yet versed. Nico was patient, and he helped her sound out the words. He wrote them phonetically out in dirt, though it was through persistence that Aelita memorized the melody. "The People have learned to live with much sadness. But you have spoken the Vir Tanadahl, and you know that there is no great challenge that we cannot overcome."

 

8th of Solis

It was three days before the Feast Day festival was to begin, and Lowel Tyron had discovered Aelita's secret. He'd dragged her to the Knight Templar, who saw the mark of the Creator on her back as a sign of evil seeded within the youth of Falcon's Bridge. Thomas Vincent pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. "Those damned knife ears. I should've known letting them into Falcon's Bridge was a bad idea. They always poison those too stupid to resist with words of deception and lies."

"I want to know just why you thought it a good idea to turn your back on your family in exchange for those savages!"

Aelita pulled on her father's grip, and she struggled to break free of his grasp. "Those 'savages' have been better family to me than you ever have! At least they treat me like one of their own!" Aelita yanked her arm away and began to walk backwards away from Lowel. "And now I am one of them! I am my own person now! You can't control me, Father!"

Lowel stormed up to her, and she screamed as he pulled on her braids to drag her across the room. "You listen to me, you ungrateful little bitch, you'll never have a place anywhere! You think those crazy heathens will hesitate to sacrifice you to their god in some crazy ritual? You think they won't sell you into slavery the first chance they get? You don't belong anywhere! You're an outcast, a freak!"

Aelita's eyes filled with tears, but she stood firm in the presence of her father. "I'd rather die at the hands of the People than live one more second as your slave!"

"Enough!" Thomas Vincent shouted. He walked around his desk. "There may be a chance to save your daughter from the claws of evil, Tyron. Perhaps we should show her what happens to heathen witches that defy everything sacred."

Aelita looked up at him. "What are you planning?"

Thomas Vincent attached his sword to his side and pulled his helmet on over his spectacles. "We shall arrest Edna the Witch. This crime of corruption will not go unpunished." He glared at Aelita. "And Maya, you know what we do to witches."

She felt her jaw hit the floor. They planned to put Edna to the stake! "No! I won't let you do this!" Aelita said firmly, and she rushed over to the window. Lowel and Thomas Vincent ran after her, but she'd already jumped. She transformed into an owl, and she flew as swiftly as she could to the campsite. Edna greeted her with a smile, like always, but when Aelita transformed back and the hahren caught sight of her panicked expression, her smile vanished. "Knight Templar Thomas Vincent plans to burn you. He called you a witch!"

"What? I know that T.V hates everyone not of Lyoko, but he has no reason to try me for witchcraft." Edna stated.

Aelita looked at her feet. "Father found out about my confirmation. He dragged me to his office and I heard it there. It sounded like to me that he's been looking forward to something like this for a long, long time!"

Nico spat at the earth. "That snake! I'll cut his throat out myself!"

Edna shook her head. "No, Nico. This is no time for violence. Tell the others to pack up and leave. I see no other way to resolve this mess."

"What about you, sister?" Nico asked.

"I will stay. Perhaps my arrest will give you time to escape."

Nico shook his head. "No! We will not leave you!"

Aelita nodded. "Neither will I. Vir Adahlen; together we are stronger than the one."

Edna smiled at her student. "Your devotion honors me, da'len." Her smile vanished once more, and she directed Aelita into her aravel. She removed Erahalam from her back and presented it to Aelita with great respect. "My time in the Garden has reached its end. Carry my staff now, Aelita Durgenbora, for you will take my place as Hahren."

Aelita refused. "No! You will survive! I am not ready!"

Edna took her tiny hands and placed them on the staff. "Take Erahalam. The bond is yours now. Be wise, da'len, and do whatever it takes to survive."

Not half an hour later did the magistrates arrive, and they dragged Edna away in chains. Lowel forced Aelita back into the apartment, and from her bedroom window, she could see the magistrates' oubliette.

 

18th of Solis

"On the count of witchcraft, how do you plea?" Thomas Vincent asked. The Feast Day festival had been canceled, and instead they used the stage as a place of public execution. Edna was tied to the wooden stake, her hands bound and a constant shield of magic-negating energy prevented her escape. Aelita was in chains in the back of the audience, and one of the magistrates lifted her up onto his shoulders so she could witness the entire ordeal.

Edna stared Thomas Vincent in the eyes. "I am not a witch," She said flatly, resisting the urge to spit in his face.

Thomas Vincent scoffed and spun around, waving her off. "Then the die is cast and you shall commit to the flame." He said, and he lit the hay at her feet.

Aelita covered her eyes for a while, unable to watch as the flames began to lick at the hem of Edna's plain white tunic. She suddenly became furious, filled with a rage that no dragon could match. The changeling kicked the magistrate binding her in the neck, and she jumped off of his shoulders. She summoned lightning and fired it at Thomas Vincent, who dodged it and glared at her. She spun a water spell around her hands, but before she could complete it, the Knight Templar negated the magic. Aelita screamed in pain, and she fell to her knees, sobbing. "Send her to the oubliette! Tonight she hangs!" T.V shouted, and Eleanor jumped onstage.

"No! Please, Maya is just a stupid kid! She doesn't know any better!" Eleanor pleaded, ignoring the red-hot flames radiating heat.

Murray jumped out of the crowd and raced towards Aelita. "She's not a witch! You cannot hang her without a trial!" He declared, drawing his broadsword from his back.

T.V looked at the dwarf without amusement in his eyes. "Can I not? Perhaps you would like to hang with her." Thomas Vincent ordered the magistrates to arrest them both. Murray fought to protect himself and Aelita, incapacitated from T.V's silencing. But they were too numerous, and he was only fifteen. He surrendered, and T.V looked to Eleanor. "I will honor your request. Your… daughter will not hang. It is too bad the boy's father was arrested for insurrection. I cannot make that same promise for him."

 

23rd of Solis

Aelita had spent five days in the Oubliette, the only way to know how long time had passed was counting the minutes. She told herself the stories of Elvhenan, and she wondered why this had happened. The chains on her ankles felt like heavy bricks, and she'd studied the negating wards carved into the steel. She heard murmurs as the magistrates guarding her spoke of an elven uprising after Edna's execution. She was horrified to learn that there had been no survivors, and to prevent a future attack, T.V had ordered the deaths of the remaining elves, even the children. She'd cried for hours after that, knowing it was her own stupidity that had caused this mess. Edna had warned her that the humans would not like her joining her people, hadn't she? Aelita ran out of tears, and she coughed with a dry throat. "Please, I want some water." She croaked out, trying to gather the attention of the guards. She tried speaking louder, her voice weak and hoarse, "I haven't had anything to eat or drink since I arrived, please, may I just have some water?"

They said nothing and Aelita curled up in the corner where she waited for one of the Guides to claim her soul. But a Guide did not arrive, rather a spirit that had sensed her hunger and her pain. It was a creepy looking thing, with many tentacles and a dome that showed electrical currents running through it. Aelita backed away from it, but it did not attack her. It spoke. "Da'len elvhenan," It said, a voice squeaky and painful, "Freedom is in your blood."

Aelita looked at the spirit in confusion. "What?" She asked.

The spirit spoke again. "You wish to be free? You have the power to be free and to free a hundred more just like you flowing through you." A sudden scream that sounded like Murray shattered what little calm there had been. "It isn't too late to save him. Find the blood and find your freedom."

Aelita looked at the spirit hesitantly, but when Murray's scream broke the silence again, she nodded. She rubbed her open palm against the rough rocks until her skin broke, and then she kept rubbing until the bleeding continued. The spirit cackled, and it wrapped her with its tentacles, gifting her with the arcane knowledge of forbidden magics. Aelita honed in on the bond Edna had told her she'd established with Erahalam, and the staff pierced her stomach.

She coughed, but she pulled the staff out of her body. Aelita forced her magic against the cell door, slamming it against the wall with such force that it shattered the skull of one of the guards. The other charged her, but she grabbed hold of his blood. It began to boil, and he fell to the ground, screaming as he died. Aelita jumped over his corpse and rushed to find an exit, andthen she looked on the upper levels to find Murray.

When she found him, he was bloody and bruised and he didn't appear to be breathing. Aelita gasped, and she looked to the skull on Erahalam. She remembered Edna saving the hunter, and she placed the skull on Murray's forehead.

The room filled with a vile red light, much different than the pure white light that had healed the hunter. She was forced back, losing her grip on Erahalam as she fell to the stone floor. When she sat up, Murray's body was no more than a skeleton. She shrieked, and she started sobbing.

Inside of her, and yet coming from the direction of Erahalam, she could've sworn she heard Murray shout for her to run. So she grabbed the staff, and she ran. Thinking of nowhere she could run that would be safe; she fled to the Aloten campsite. Nothing was left there but the smell of death and fire. She sang the dirge of the dead before she kept running, her mind set on fleeing to Arlathan.

 

29th of Ferventis, 5:08 Guardian

Now that she had finished her story Ulrich comforted her. Jeremie wanted to as well, but anything that came from his mouth would be insufficient. She remembered clearly the sight of Murray's skeleton, and her mind filled with flashes of Edna's burning corpse. Five years later and she still hadn't convinced herself that it wasn't her fault.

Ulrich looked up to Jeremie with an angry glare, and he said, "So long as we're being open and honest here, Belpois, maybe you should tell Aelita what you did over your summer vacation."

"I'm not sure now is the best time." Jeremie said, a humorless laugh escaping his lips.

"Why not? Is there ever a good time for these things?" Ulrich asked.

Aelita looked to Jeremie, her large green eyes fixated on him. "Tell me what, Jeremie? What did you do?"

Jeremie sighed, and he looked down to the golden band he wore on his left ring finger. "Aelita," He said as he looked up at her, "I accepted Laura's wedding proposal. I'm getting married."

There was no time to explain, not that he could have. Aelita had transformed into an owl and she'd flown out the window, though even in this form, it was obvious she was still hurt.


	18. Autumn 3

Episode 3: Fanning the Flames

30th of Ferventis

Ulrich summarized Aelita's story to Yumi the next morning, and she cringed several times. "Poor Aelita. That must have been horrible."

The Mercenary agreed. "Anyway, we'll probably be leaving in a few days. I heard Jeremie say that he wants to get out of Thomas Vincent's district as soon as possible."

"Did he say if we were reinstating Aelita in our group?" Yumi asked, leaning against the aravel. She crossed her arms, and Ulrich did the same.

He shook his head. "I don't know. I hope that he will, or we may have to smuggle her out of Falcon's Bridge." He laughed, and Yumi giggled in spite of herself. Ulrich took a step closer to the Colonist. "Listen, I think the best thing we can do is try to throw the magistrates off our tails. So far, none of them have approached us, but that won't last long. They must've gotten our description from a messenger of some sort. I'll bet that if we destroy the message, we may stall them."

Yumi seemed hesitant. "I don't know, Ulrich. Don't you think that T.V may have already read the report? I mean, he sent magistrates after us."

He laughed. "And he memorized it?" He looked away and continued, "Listen, I don't much care if he's memorized it or not. Destroying the files will help get him off our backs. And while we're at it, we may want to destroy files on Maya Tyron. He'll remember Aelita's face, but it may help."

"What makes you think that I want anything to do with this?" Yumi demanded.

"Yumi, I need your help. You can get into the outpost easily with the help of your mask, and I certainly can't ask Jeremie to help me." Ulrich leaned against the aravel, and he turned his attention back to her.

"You two still aren't speaking?"

"You didn't see Aelita's face before she flew away. You'd be mad at him too."

Yumi looked down at her toes. "I—I'm not sure about this, Ulrich."

"I'll watch the entrance, and you sneak in and get the files. It'll be easy." He said, and then he smirked. "That is, unless you're scarred…"

She looked up and stared into his eyes. He wore a boyish grin, one that had gotten her into trouble countless times when they were younger. And there it was again, about to get her into more trouble. "Oh, fine! But you owe me one, Ulrich."

 

After flying away from Jeremie and Ulrich, Aelita spent the rest of the night in the woods trying to comprehend what had gone on during her absence. It had only been two weeks and yet the entire group dynamic had changed. Ulrich and Jeremie had been close friends, now, they barely spoke. Jeremie had been angry at Laura and now they were to be married. How had this happened?

Against the morning's light, Aelita snuck back into Falcon's Bridge, her hood pulled over her head to hide her face. She'd changed since she'd last been there—she'd lost weight, thus losing her roundish features in turn for thinner ones, her hair was short and almost always a mess, and she was much taller—though that was expected; it had been five years. Nevertheless she moved through back alleys, carefully and quickly darting between the deep shadows to avoid the magistrates that patrolled the outer rims of the city.

The effort took its toll on her and, out of breath and in pain, she stopped and leaned against the wall of an alley. She slid down and buried her face in her arms before pushing her bangs from her face. The Outcast looked up to the sky and watched for rabbits and hawks, or anything that might have signaled that things were getting better.

She returned to earth when she heard someone coming her way, and she pushed up against the wall in case they attacked. Aelita relaxed slightly when she saw that it was William, but she still felt tension, knowing that the Vanguard was a lackey of Laura's. Mustering her courage, she spoke. "William, can I ask you something?"

William stopped and looked around, as if he hadn't seen her. When he spotted her, he crossed his arms, clearly not pleased at the sight of her. "I suppose I can't stop you, can I?"  
Aelita looked down at her toes, and then back up. "When did Jeremie accept Laura's proposal? How long did he wait?"

He rolled his eyes. "He didn't."

"What?"

"He didn't wait. He accepted my lady's proposal almost as soon as he returned to camp."

She shook her head and pushed her bangs out of her face again, this time knocking her hood off of her head. "How did this happen?" She asked, and William began to walk again. She tried reaching out to him, to reestablish what little relationship they'd had before. "You feel it too, don't you? To have people judge you for what you are, not what you've done or what you say?"

William turned, his ashen skin almost ebony in the shadow. His red eyes were embers in the alley. "What are you saying?"

"We're two of a kind. I wanted to learn about my culture, to be among my people. You wanted to make the dark elves accepted in a culture that doesn't care about them. I was sent away because of the magic that I use. People put up barriers around you because of your heritage. Doesn't it bother you?"

William rushed towards her, and startled, Aelita backed up against the wall. He was dangerously close to her, and the anger in his eyes made her feel very small. "Yet I made no deal with a demon to accomplish my goal!" He shouted, and Aelita was afraid that he would attack her. "You had a life! You had a family! And yet you abandoned all of it to chase ghosts!"

"That's not true! You have no idea what I went through!" Aelita shouted, standing up on her toes to get closer to his face.

"Believe what you like. Just know this—we are nothing alike, witch. Don't even begin to think that we are." William stood intimidatingly over her for a few moments more before he turned and stormed off. Aelita watched him as he left, slowly succumbing to the pain in her chest as she struggled to catch her breath from shouting. She slid down against the wall before burying her head again.

 

Two newly initiated magistrates stood silently outside the door to the outpost. Their shift had just started, and they had taken on the most boring position of the day. To pass the time, the magistrate on the left asked, "Hey, man, did Billy and the others ever come back from their patrol the other night?"

The magistrate shrugged. "Fuck Billy. Billy's dead."

They saw a boy approaching, and they drew their swords. Lefty spoke up. "No civilians past this point without official business."

The boy drew his katanna and egged them forward. "I have official business—kicking your ass."

Lefty looked at his partner. "We're under attack!"

"I'm not an idiot! I could've figured that out for myself!" Righty shouted. The magistrates charged the boy, who took advantage of their clumsiness and merely stepped out of the way. He kicked Lefty's feet out from under him and knocked the helmet off. Then he sliced off the magistrates head while Righty turned and tried to attack the boy from behind. A girl leapt from a nearby tree and landed on Righty's shoulders. She used one of her throwing knives to slice his throat.

Ulrich sheathed his blade and hid the bodies in the bushes after stripping Lefty, who was closer to him in size. He donned the armor and hid his face under the helm. "I'll stay here and keep watch. Be sure you get out alive with the information that we need."

Yumi nodded as she took a key from Righty's belt. She unlocked the door and tied the rabbit mask behind her ears, causing her to vanish from view. Ulrich counted a few seconds then closed the door behind her. Now, all he could do was wait.

 

Dhaune knocked on the door to Xana's bedchambers, and she entered to find two slaves fixing the Matron's hair. "Matron Mother?" Dhaune said quietly before approaching. She looked to the Eluvian against the wall. She always hated how the ancient mirrors never reflected anything—it was always unnerving. "Matron Mother, I've been watching the Heroes. They've taken refuge in Falcon's Bridge."

Xana sighed, and after deciding that the slaves had done an adequate job, she ordered them to go. "What are you proposing?"

"The Veil is very thin there. You could easily summon spirits and send them there." She suggested. "I also have some… other ideas, if you'd like to hear them." Dhaune pressed her hands together, but she didn't back down from Xana's stare.

She held her head back and smiled. "I'm listening, Dhaune. Let's hear it."

 

Yumi had trouble getting used to invisibility. She could not see her feet as she was walking, and therefore had major issues when climbing the stairs. She had barely gotten used to climbing stairs without the usual visual cues when the sound of heavy, metallic footsteps moving downwards cased a momentary sense of panic. Thinking quickly she pressed herself against the sidewall of the stairs and edged forwards until she came to a corner created by the winding stairs. There she waited, with knives clenched in her hands ready to strike if she was discovered.

The magistrates passed by, none the wiser, speaking of the troubles with Replika and the dark elves. Yumi waited until their voices faded away before jumping back onto the stairs. She tiptoed up several more flights before coming to the top floor. A guard stood outside, his sword at the ready and his eyes fixated towards the stairs. Yumi panicked for a moment, believing he could see her, but he did not move, and she relaxed. Slowly she moved around the guard, careful to not make a sound.

The Colonist regarded the door, and she cursed under her breath when she saw that it was closed. The magistrate returned, apparently hearing her. She threw kunai at him, striking him in the neck, nose and forehead. He stumbled back, and though he was clearly dead—or at least dying—Yumi slammed her bo staff into his face, lodging the kunai in his nose so far in that she had no hope of recovering it. She unlocked the door with the key around the magistrate's neck.

Closing the door behind her, Yumi removed her mask and tucked it into her obi. She was taken aback as she saw her hand. It was translucent, and she could see her bones before opacity returned to her skin.

She searched the desk in the center of the room for recent reports. Finding nothing, she dug through the drawers. She came across a letter written in strange symbols attached to a satchel of gold. She slipped the letter into her obi, hoping to have Jeremie or Aelita translate it later. Next she found a file written in a leather notebook with a sketch of an elf girl and a caption reading 'Maya Tyron.' Yumi grabbed the book. Finally, she searched through letters piled near the window, and found one with their descriptions written. She tucked this letter into the book and moved towards the door while struggling to attach the mask to her face.

She heard a gasp as someone discovered the corpse outside the door. Dropping the book she attached the mask quickly then bent down to retrieve the book. She managed to grab the book and stand up before the door opened. "There is someone in here!" A man with short brown hair shouted, pushing his spectacles up his nose. Yumi concluded that he was T.V. She snuck over to the wall and slid against it as T.V searched for her.

He threw open the wardrobe and tore at the curtains on the west wall. Yumi took his paranoia as a gift and sprinted out of the office.


	19. Autumn 4

Episode 4: Dusk and Dhaune

1st of Parvulis

As Ulrich took a match to the report and the book found in T.V's office, Yumi gave the letter written in the strange symbols to Jeremie. He read over them, and he nodded. "Yes, these are dwarven runes, and I recognize this word—amgarrak. It means victory. Where did you get this?"

Yumi was hesitant to admit it, but Ulrich held no shame. "From the desk of Thomas Vincent,"

Jeremie recoiled. "What? You broke into the magistrate outpost?!"

"Unlike you, I was not content simply waiting for him to kill us! At least we took action!" Ulrich shouted. "If you want to go back and apologize for our initiative, be my guest. I hope they throw you in the same cell they threw Aelita in!"

Yumi stepped in between them. "Boys, stop!" She said, and she looked to Jeremie. "The letter was attached to a satchel of gold. What could that mean?"

"I won't know until I've translated the letter, but it could be a donation from a private dwarven investor. There are quite a few dwarves in Falcon's Bridge." He shook his head, and he added, "But I can't imagine why even a dwarven investor would send a letter written in dwarven runes and not the Common."

Ulrich crossed his arms and leaned against the aravel. "Victory, dwarven runes, a satchel of gold and a corrupt magistrate. This does not bode well for our good friend T.V."

"I don't want to jump to any conclusions until I have all of the facts." The Wise Man said as he entered the aravel.

Ulrich glared. "Yeah, because he deserves the benefit of your doubt so much more than Aelita did."

Jeremie stared back angrily and opened his mouth to argue.

"BOYS!" Yumi yelled before they could start yet another fight.

 

Aelita stood in the street and looked at the Hunter's Meadhall. It had all started there, she recalled, remembering Edna's voice and her gentle guiding hands. Aelita put her hand on the doorknob and pushed it open. Inside, it was exactly the same as it had always been—the low ceiling and the dark wood all around. There were chandeliers spaced at intervals along the ceiling and a fire pit in the center of the room. Aelita made her way to the seat where she'd first seen Edna.

She closed her eyes and remembered her beating heart, the joy she'd felt at her first successful complex spell and the elation of navigating the forest without thinking. She remembered the pain of the confirmation process, and that itching that didn't go away for many days. She pushed her toes and fingers closer to the fire, remembering the sense of belonging that had filled her heart when she was with the elves. For a moment, she convinced herself that Edna was still alive—that she would wake up and everything from the spirit to the execution to her false human family and her enslavement had been a bad dream. That Edna would scold her for not listening. Then they would move on, and everything would be right again.

But Aelita opened her eyes and found she was still in the Meadhall, surrounded by people who cared nothing for her or her story. She pulled her hands and feet closer, and she covered her eyes.

"…Maya?" A feminine voice behind her asked.

"I answer to no name but my own," Aelita said as firmly as she could, though her voice shook with anger and shame. The owner of the voice pulled off her hood, revealing Aelita's pink hair. The Outcast jumped up and pushed the owner of the voice away before pulling the hood back over her head. The owner was a blonde human girl, her hair short and her eyes a weak tint of blue. Aelita's eyes widened as she recognized the girl. "…Eva?"

Eva Skinner put her hands on her hips. "You have some nerve showing your face in this town." She hissed, her fingers twitching near the dagger on her belt. Eva wore a plain set of tavern clothes, heavy and brown like the arriving autumn leaves covered in a dirty white apron. "You ruined everything!"

"I didn't do anything, Eva! If you want the true culprit, look to Thomas Vincent!" Aelita said, her voice getting louder.

"The Knight-Templar was only doing his job!" Eva argued. She took a step forward so that she was right in Aelita's face. "You ruined a lot of people's lives. Did you know that Chris never returned from prison? He was only supposed to be there for a few days until after the execution, but when Ben went to collect him, they said that he'd been moved to a prison out of the district!"

"That was not my fault! Chris stood up for the truth! He knew Edna was not a blood magician!"

Eva laughed bitterly. "Oh, but you are!" Her tone became sickly sweet. "Did Murray volunteer to have his skeleton picked clean, or did the demon teach you that?"

Aelita remembered the skeleton, and she looked down at her toes. "I… I didn't mean to do that." She said weakly. "It… it was an accident."

"An accident? An accident?! You killed our best friend on accident?!" The tavern wench shouted. "You're a murderer and a liar! What did your little pet teach you? What did he teach you, witch?!"

She would no longer be silent. "I. AM. NOT! A! WITCH!" She struck Eva, who drew her dagger and slashed at the elf. Aelita pounced on her former friend, clawing like a rabid animal at her face. There was screaming and a gathering crowd, but she barely noticed.

Aelita only let up when she realized that she'd knocked Eva unconscious. At that point she jumped up and looked at her bloody fingers, her hands shaking. Quiet rumblings drew her attention and she scanned the crowd, which had formed a circle around the fight and was now beginning to press in on her. Surrounded by unfriendly faces, she bolted, pushing, shoving and threatening her way through the patrons until she had a clear path to the door. She ran out of the Meadhall, unable to hide her tears any longer.

She hid under the uplifted roots of a tree outside the village, sobbing uncontrollably. Everything was wrong. She heard footsteps, and she found Jeremie and Laura standing near the tree. She knew he was getting married to the Fair, but at that moment she didn't care any longer. She ran into his arms and cried into his shirt, holding onto it with a death grip. He seemed surprised, but he didn't push her away.

It was Laura who dragged them back to reality. "Listen, for some reason Jeremie thinks that you need to hear this new development. We're headed back to the aravel." She said flatly as Jeremie gently pushed Aelita out of his arms.

Jeremie offered what little kindness he could. "Do you need a minute?"

Aelita shook her head. "No. We have too much to do for me to sit here bawling."

They walked together to the aravel, though Aelita walked farther away from the fiancées than she would have otherwise. Laura hooked her arm in Jeremie's and pulled him closer to her, intertwining their fingers. He stood between the two girls, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. This would only grow to something worse, but he felt powerless to stop it.

Ulrich watched their approach to camp, standing up when he saw that Aelita's face had been stained with blood. "Gods above! Aelita, what happened?" He asked as he helped her to sit around the fire.

She shook her head. "I don't know anymore."

Odd questioned her. "You don't know what happened that caused you to have blood on your face and fingers? I would remember something like that."

Yumi slapped his arm. "Quiet, Odd."

Jeremie cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said, "I translated the runes on the letter that Yumi gave to me. It didn't involve us, per se, but…"

Laura encouraged him. "Go on, love. What did it say?"

"…Knight Templar Thomas Vincent has been approached by Xana to ally himself with her war effort." Jeremie finished, crossing his arms.

William raised his eyebrows. "What? That's treason."

Aelita scoffed. "I can't imagine treason is the least thing he is capable of."

Yumi crossed her arms. "If this is the case, we should bring the translated letter to the mayor and pack up as soon as we can."

Laura agreed. "If T.V is a traitor, he won't get away with it. The citizens of Lyoko will not stand for it."

There was a large crash behind them, and they turned. A column of smoke appeared in the direction of Falcon's Bridge. They heard the familiar sound of constructs moving and firing lasers. "Looks like our escape will have to wait. We've got bigger problems." William said as the Heroes drew their weapons and charged towards the city.

 

Dhaune and about two hundred constructs were materialized on the northern border of Falcon's Bridge. She summoned a fire in her hands, and she used it to set fire to a tree next to her. Then, she ordered one of the monsters to chop down the tree. It fell onto a building, demolishing the house. She took a deep breath as she used a dark blue ribbon to tie back her hair. "This is your first solitary assignment, Dhaune. Don't blow it." She told herself as she drew her sword. "Attack!"

 

About twenty minutes after dusk had fallen, Falcon's Bridge was almost completely engulfed in flame and William was having flashbacks to Capital Lyoko. He and Laura were directing citizens towards the exit, hoping to help as many as they could to safety. They spotted Lowel and Milly leaving the city, but Eleanor didn't seem to be with them. The magistrates and the city guardsmen were fighting alongside the other Heroes, who had vanished from sight. A small group of constructs nearly struck Laura, though William blocked the laser just in time. "There's no end to them!" Laura shouted over the cacophony of screams and embers.

William looked up and saw an elf approaching in leather armor, her hair tied back. He put his hand on Laura's shoulder, signaling her to stay back, then he approached the stranger only to see she wasn't so foreign after all. "Dhaune!" He cried out. Dhaune's smug expression did not change, but she taunted him before rushing off into the burning city. "Stay here and guide the citizens! I'm going after Dhaune!"

Laura started to run after him. "Wait! What if something were to happen to you?"

"I'll be fine! Don't worry about me!" William shouted.

She sighed, muttering "The more he says that, the more I begin to worry." Nevertheless, she turned back towards the gate and continued guiding the citizens out of the city, offering advice and protection when needed.

 

Aelita was guarding the bridge, taking on constructs from afar when possible. Summoning a great portion of her magic, she tried to create a rainstorm, but the result was snow. She was greatly confused and stared at it for quite a while in disbelief, but she snapped back to reality when a magistrate grabbed her arm. "You're wanted by the law! You're coming with me!" The magistrate declared.

She motioned towards the city. "Don't you see this? You're not that blind, are you? This should be your main priority!"

But there was no use in talking sense into the magistrate. She may not have been able to tell if he was doing his job or if Xana had paid him off, but he wasn't going to let her go. "If you don't come willingly, I have no qualms about killing you."

She shook her head disbelievingly and slammed Murray the Skull between the man's legs. Using a bit of magic, the steel shattered and he screamed an octave higher than he normally would have as he fell to the ground. She knocked his helmet off and, using the blade on the end of Erahalam, stabbed her foe in the eye. Aelita took a deep breath in and the man's life-energy crawled up her staff. Using this energy she healed her broken bones, since she'd suffered too long from the pain. "I knew it. T.V was right about blood magicians." A girl behind her said.

Aelita sighed. "You'll never understand me, Eva. I'm beginning to think you never did." She said sadly as she turned, sheathing Erahalam to give Eva a chance to stand down.

Eva placed her hands on her hips, her face covered in bandages from Aelita's rage. "We agree at last," She hissed. "You've brought evil onto yourself and everyone around you. I pity you."

"I did what I had to do to survive!" Aelita shouted. "I have not willingly dragged others into my choices! Murray was the exception but you have to believe me when I say that I regret it and want to change it—but you don't understand."

"You're right. I don't. As far as I'm concerned, you should have died in that hole, not Murray."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Aelita hissed, "but I did what I thought was right—"

Eva interrupted her. "You might have done just that." She said, her voice filled with venom and warning. "I suppose now I'll have to do the same."

Aelita prepared to attack Eva, but she made no attempt to kill the Outcast. Rather, the tavern wench knocked passed her and raided the body of the dead magistrate. She changed in the bushes, coming out in full armor. She gazed at her former friend for a long while before turning and headed in the direction of Kadic.

 

William had chased Dhaune through the city streets, coming now to an alley near the northern border. Dhaune faced the brick wall, though she turned when William approached her. "Nowhere left to run, bitch," William said, stalking closer to her.

Dhaune cackled. "Who's running?" She asked, shrugging her shoulders. William furrowed his brows, and a stone wall closed off the alley. "I'm just getting started."

William charged her, and she side-stepped out of his path. He stopped with effort, turned and slashed at her as quickly as his body and bulky sword allowed. Dhaune was expecting that and she was ready, ducking under the arc of his weapon and kicking him the shin. He stumbled back, his sword dragging on the ground for a moment before he used it to stand upright. The pain in his knee flared though he fought it back without showing anything outwardly. He was not going to give her the satisfaction.

Instead he attacked again, forcing Dhaune into a long battle. She dodged and where she couldn't she parried or deflected his attacks. On it went, Dhaune suffering only light wounds while William took no damage at all. Attack after attack showed William getting slower and his heavy breathing betrayed his failing stamina. Dhaune on the other hand, having turned to blood magic as Xana had instructed her, was none the worse for the wear.

Panting heavily, William gathered his strength for one last attack. "I… Won't let you get away with what you've done!" He lifted his sword and launched himself at her.

She was ready. Holding out her foot, Dhaune struck him in the stomach and he stumbled to a stop, coughing. She walked over as he gasped for breath standing over him and tearing the sword from his hands.

She called upon his blood and forced him to kneel before her. "It is such a shame that you're so hotheaded. I was hoping we could resolve this civilly; that we could come to an agreement with mutual benefits."

He laughed bitterly, though he was barely able to look at her. "I would never deal with a witch like you or Xana!"

"And so you would deny your people because of principle? That's a pity. Even Aelita would change sides if she thought it would help the People. But you? No… you're far too shortsighted for such strategies." She laughed. "Though I have to wonder why you would express your displeasure with Lyoko's war strategy if you intended to remain at her side."

William spat. "I have done no such thing!"

Dhaune turned to face the wall of the alley. "No? Wasn't it you who said that you felt like you were on the wrong side of a losing battle?"

His eyes widened. "How could you possibly…"

"The Matron has eyes everywhere. I am the ears to those eyes." Dhaune explained cryptically. She turned and folded her arms behind her back. "So, is that your final answer? You deny yourself a title, a pedestal and glory?"

"I will not work for Xana!"

She shook her head. "What a bother. It appears that we must do this the hard way."

 

It was late as the exhausted heroes gathered together, the streets of the city bathed in the flickering red and yellow hues of the many buildings that still burned after the battle. The constructs for the most part had been defeated or fled, and citizens had stopped fleeing the city. Ulrich, Odd and Aelita had joined Laura at the gate, and Aelita brought along Rorkal and the aravel. Jeremie and Yumi approached, clothes slightly singed and covered in soot but otherwise unharmed. Laura ran to Jeremie and embraced him, though she felt Aelita's eyes on her. "Are you alright?" The Wise Man asked his fiancée, and when she nodded, he looked to the others, who agreed that they were unharmed.

Laura looked at him in confusion. "Where is William? Is he not with you?" She asked.

Yumi shook her head. "No, we thought he was here, protecting you."

The Fair looked to the Colonist. "No, Dhaune appeared, and he gave chase. I thought maybe you had run into him. He is far more skilled a fighter than Dhaune is."

Jeremie shook his head. "I didn't see him. I'll find out where he is." He closed his eyes and tried to locate William. A confused look spread across his face, creating an aura of worry through the group. Two minutes passed, and Jeremie opened his eyes, defeat obvious in them. "No. I couldn't find him."

Aelita approached cautiously, not wanting to get too close to Laura. "That doesn't mean anything. Maybe William pushed you out. I can do it; so can the others, I'm sure."

Jeremie shook his head. "Even when you pushed me out, I could still get an idea of where you were—a glimpse, a thought, something. I can't even contact William, let alone give him enough time to sever the connection."

Laura's eyes filled with tears. "What are you saying?"

"I'm sorry, Laura. William is dead," Jeremie announced.

The Heroes searched the city for an hour, splitting up to cover more ground. There was no sign of William's corpse, not even a burned one that could be identified as drow. Aelita did find Eleanor, crushed under a fallen tree with her eyes still open. She'd closed those eyes, but otherwise offered no service.

After unsuccessfully searching for a body, Laura begged that Jeremie search for him again, though once more this proved fruitless. They prepared a small memorial for the Vanguard, placing two gold coins at the base. At Yumi's request, Aelita sang the dirge for a fallen elf.

"Hahren na melana salin  
Emma ir abelas  
Souver'inan isala hamin  
Vhenan him dor'felas  
In uthenera na revas

Vir sulahn'nehn  
Vir dirthera  
Vir samahl la numin  
Vir lath sa'vunin."

After she'd finished her song, the teenagers were on the road again, though grief and realization filled their hearts like cement.


	20. Autumn 5

Episode 5: Catfight!

15th of Parvulis

He felt pain; pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before, even when fighting Xana's constructs. He felt a whip being cracked against his back, and he felt himself being stretched on a rack. He felt hot iron burning his flesh, and chains pulling him back as he tried to reach the door. His vision blurred and it raced through a house that appeared to have been built inside of a cave, but not a cave—he could see the moon shining in the blue-black sky. Perhaps he was inside of an abandoned quarry? But there, resting on the edge was a woman. She had skin like the snow, and fingers that were clawed, like a monster's. Her hair was fair, and when she turned, her eyes were on fire with an orange glow.

Jeremie sat up with a jolt, his breathing heavy and his body covered in sweat. What had he seen? His back stung and his joints held traces of phantom pain. This wasn't an ordinary dream—no, this was a vision, like the one about Capital Lyoko. He held his head in his hand, trying to imagine where the vision had brought him. An abandoned quarry? That could only be in the mountain sector of Lyoko, and while they were getting closer to that part of Lyoko, they wouldn't reach it for several weeks.

He crawled out of his tent and noticed Aelita poking at the fire. The sun hadn't yet dawned, and while the sky had taken on a pearly blue color, he could still see the stars. He watched her face, expecting to see the happy-go-lucky girl he'd sat with under the vhenadahl, but her face remained stoic. She seemed to notice his presence, as she looked at him briefly. "Trouble sleeping?" She asked.

Jeremie sat adjacent from her, though he would not sit too close. The others would wake soon, and he didn't want Laura to get the wrong idea. "I had a vision. I'm not certain what it means, but whatever it is, it wasn't pleasant."

Aelita nodded. "I'm plagued by nightmares too. Curse of the blood, I guess." The second part of her statement was quiet so as not to upset him or cause an argument. She and Laura argued enough for all of them. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The Wise Man considered it, but he shook his head. "No, not really; I'm sure it was nothing." He was lying, and he knew that she could tell. Regardless, she did not press the issue. Jeremie opened up the book written in elven runes, and after taking to heart the words Aelita had used, he was able to hear them on the pages, and they spoke to him. He transcribed them phonetically to learn the runes, and thus on his own had begun to translate the book. As he turned the page, he came across the dried hyacinth that Aelita had given to him. He picked it up, but it deteriorated at his touch.

He sighed, and she glanced at him briefly before turning her eyes to the sky. She was still certain in their prophecy, but she was no longer confident in herself. She had come to terms with Jeremie's engagement, finally, though she still resented both of them for it. But she knew that the Wise Man would come to his senses eventually, though she feared it would be too late when he did. She would wait for him, of course, but what if it was too late? Could she split up a marriage, likely with children? Or could she resign herself to being his mistress? It sounded so degrading—she'd rather be a wife than a mistress. She noticed that Jeremie was watching her.

Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Had he heard that? Aelita had forgotten he was telepathic! She hadn't felt him enter her mind. What if he had gotten better at it, or what if she had been too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice? She stared at him with wide eyes. He furrowed his brows and asked, "Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh! I… was just…" She couldn't think of anything, so she looked back into the fire and tried to hide her embarrassment.

An hour later, the sun had risen, the others woke up, and Aelita started breakfast. Laura criticized her for not starting it earlier, and Aelita told her to go to a place that wasn't so nice. Yumi stepped between the two before they could argue, and the teens ate in silence. Then, they packed up the aravel and started down the road, though it wasn't long before things got stirred up again.

"Now, Aelita," Laura said in a voice so sickly sweet it made Aelita's teeth hurt, "when we reach this next city, you can't go around using your little witch tricks. We're in enough trouble as it is."

Aelita huffed, as if she was severely put out. "Oh, darn! And here I was thinking I'd sacrifice the first virgin I came across! I had heard that Odd could help me find one!"

Odd scoffed. "Of course I could! Don't ask me to find the cheese market, though."

The Outcast laughed, and she added sarcastically, "Oh, but since you have forbidden it, my beautiful princess, I cannot proceed with my evil deeds!" She feigned enlightenment. "Why, I have seen the error of my ways though your wise and foresighted policy! Forgive me, dear lady, for I have sinned!"

Laura sighed loudly. "Don't you have something unholy to do?"

Aelita crossed her arms and glared at her. "Not until four,"

Ulrich could barely walk for laughing. He had, in these past few days, stopped calling Laura by her title. This, while it bothered Jeremie, didn't seem to bother the princess. What bothered her was the rudeness with which he used her given name. It was as if Ulrich had forgotten he was a citizen of Lyoko and believed that he could address her any way that he pleased. Ulrich had not given any reason for his sudden change in behavior, but they all believed it was in protest to her treatment of Aelita.

Yumi looked at Jeremie, who only shook his head. She motioned to the other girls, but he looked at her in confusion. What did she expect him to do? As far as half of the group was convinced, including to a small extent himself, the increased tension was his fault, and his intervention would only make things worse.

 

As the sun began to set in the distance, Laura and Aelita were arguing. Again. The others tried their best to set up camp, though it was difficult to work with their voices almost causing the very earth to quake in fear. "You're a liar and a witch! How do you live with yourself?" Laura shouted as the magician girls closed the distance between them.

Aelita scrunched up her nose. "Rather a liar and a witch than a whore!" She shouted, and that was the last of understandable conversation for a long time. Eventually, Laura threw up her hands and removed herself from the conversation, as her arms were shaking and it was clear that she was a moment away from losing her temper. Aelita cast a burning glare into her back for a moment then looked briefly around camp and turned to walk off in the opposite direction.

With camp set up and supper on the fire, Odd dared to ask a question of Aelita that no one else had the guts to. "Aelita, why haven't you spoken of your time at Arak-Muna?"

She glared at him, but she took a deep breath in an attempt to handle the situation diplomatically. "It isn't a time of my life that I look on fondly."

Odd seemed to agree with that. "I understand, but don't you think that it's important that we know? What if it comes up?"

"If it comes up, then I will tell you." She replied sharply. In a softer tone, she added, "I appreciate your concern but I'm not ready to speak about it."

Laura shook her head. "Meaning that you need more time to come up with a good lie."

Aelita suddenly sat up straighter and spun her head around to glare at Laura. "Excuse me?" She asked, her voice dripping with deadly poison.

The Fair crossed her legs. "Well, it's just that you haven't been entirely honest with us. We have no way of knowing that you really spent time in Arak-Muna or if you were just lying to get attention."

She scrunched her fingers into fists. "Who would lie about something like that? That's… despicable!" She shouted.

"But there is no proof that you spent any time in Arak-Muna, or any slave port for that matter. We don't know that you aren't lying." Jeremie looked to his fiancée and prepared to say something, but Aelita's sudden action called his attention.

The Outcast stood up, and for a moment, she looked like she was going to strike the Fair. "I cannot believe you would sit there and accuse me of lying about something this crucial!" She shouted. Laura had no time to respond, for Aelita had already run off into the darkness.

Laura rolled her eyes. "She runs because she knows that she is cornered."

Jeremie shook his head. "No, she wasn't lying about Arak-Muna. I've seen the scars from where she was whipped."

She eyed him suspiciously. "I hesitate to ask why you've seen any scars on her at all." She flipped her hair back. "Regardless, do you know if those where scars from whipping and not from where she called her staff? She has been known to… yank it out of her chest so I can't imagine that it doesn't leave some form of physical scar."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. Aelita doesn't really seem to experience pain when she does that. Maybe it isn't physically inside her so no physical mark can be left?"

Ulrich furrowed his brows. "I can't believe you would do something like that!" After a very loud and long argument, he demanded that Laura find Aelita and apologize. At first she refused, but after being called many names and a threat to sell her into slavery, she agreed.

Laura found Aelita sitting in a tree in the middle of a pond. When the Outcast spotted the Fair, she slammed her heel down on the branch, causing the branches below to fall into the water. "Can you come down so we can speak?" Laura shouted up at her.

"No," She shouted down.

"Then can I come up?"

"No,"

"I want to apologize!"

"No you don't!"

Laura threw her hands up and started to walk away. "I don't understand why I keep trying to talk to you! You're a dirty knife ear and that's all you'll ever be!"

She jumped when an ice shard shattered next to her feet, and she turned to face Aelita. She was standing on the branch now, and she had her fingers clawed out. She closed them on her palms, and sharp thorns obscured her from view. She reappeared in front of Laura, startling the princess and sending her back. "You think you're so high and mighty, don't you?" Aelita asked in a low, ominous voice, her face covered in dirt and blood, stained by tears. "Well, you know what, Miss Thing? Jeremie doesn't love you. He never has and he never will! Do you know why he accepted your proposal? Because he thought I had betrayed him and marrying you was an easy way of avoiding the pain!"

Laura curled up her fists. "That isn't true!"

"It is true!" Aelita shouted. "No one likes you! You're a class A bitch that we tolerate because you're a princess and apparently you're a Hero! You know, I'm beginning to wonder about the qualification of Heroism in Lyoko. I thought that you actually had to be heroic!"

"Like you know anything about being heroic, you whining coward! You risked the lives of everyone you knew to live in a fantasy world, and what did it get you? A broken family, a dead clan and the blood of your best friend to soil your hands, that's what!"

"You know nothing about what I went through to earn my freedom!"

"You didn't earn it; you stole it using the blood of others!"

Laura was forced back, falling into the water. Aelita grabbed her dagger and slit open her palm, cloaking herself in an aura of fire and summoning Erahalam from her chest. Laura jumped up and summoned a whip of fire, snapping it as she readied herself in the water.

They charged, Aelita raising the earth around Laura's feet to attempt to make her fall. Laura stumbled around them, and she snapped her whip. It ensnared Aelita's ankle, burning her skin through the chainmail. The Outcast stumbled back and stood despite the pain. She summoned the water from the pond and used it to knock Laura off of her feet again, and then she lifted the Fair up with the water and froze it.

Laura began to melt the ice and once her limbs were free enough, she spun around and melted the rest of the ice. She jumped from her high place and landed shakily on the ground, her feet pounding in pain. Aelita threw back her head and laughed. "Have you gone mad? You could never beat me!" Laura charged her, though Aelita burst into butterflies and dodged her attack. The Fair grabbed her wand and charged her again, intending to use the steel thing as a mace. Aelita dodged it in the same way, and she laughed again. "But I suppose you are welcome to try!"

Laura sent a fireball at the Outcast, which she sank into the earth to avoid. She reappeared behind Laura and stabbed her in the shoulder. The princess screamed and kicked the Outcast then limped away before healing the wound. "You little bitch!" Laura shouted.

There was a burst of white light, and Aelita screeched as if it had hurt her, even leaning against a tree to endure the pain. But as they tried to continue their magic duel, they learned their magic had been silenced. This didn't deter them; they used their magic focusers as melee weapons, Aelita's as a bo staff—which Yumi had been kind enough to give lessons on—and Laura's as a mace. The elf struck Laura's head with Murray the Skull, and Laura slammed her wand down on Aelita's shoulder. Aelita spun her staff around, as if she intended to stab Laura again, but Ulrich pulled her back. Laura attempted to use this opportunity to attack the Outcast, but Jeremie grabbed her. The two magician girls fought against the boys that held them.  
"Enough of this!" Jeremie shouted as he pulled Laura back. "We're trying to defeat Xana, not kill each other!"

"But she—" Both girls began.

"ENOUGH!!" Jeremie shouted again, now angrier than before. "I don't care who started it, I'm finishing it! Don't ever let me catch you two fighting again! This is not what we should be doing!"

The two girls glared at each other, and Aelita's glare intensified as Laura took Jeremie's hand, but neither of them moved to disobey the Wise Man. Odd ran up, and he sighed when he saw the fight was over. "Dammit, I missed the fight?" He asked.

Ulrich nodded and said sharply, "Yes, and you were no help at all in stopping it."

"Stop it? Who said anything about stopping it? I was going to watch. With snacks!" Ulrich rubbed his temples, walked over to his friend and proceeded to slap him. "OW!"

They headed back to camp, where Yumi paced nervously around the fire. She seemed relieved to see the girls back in one piece, though admittedly she was displeased they had fought.

Laura had first watch, so the others went to bed. She grabbed Jeremie's hand as he started to leave. "Please, can you stay with me for a while?"

"What's the matter? Are you afraid something will happen?" He asked. He paid far closer attention to Laura's prophecies now.

She shook her head, thinking back to what Aelita had said. "No, I just… don't want to be alone right now." She looked to the fire, watching the embers as they floated up and disappeared. Quietly, she said, "I don't want to hear the silence. It scares me because it screams the truth."

Jeremie studied her face, and he sat next to her. He stayed with her until it was time for Yumi to take the next sentry shift.


	21. Autumn 6

Episode 6: Falling

21st of Parvulis

The vision came again, but more vivid. He could smell the death that lingered in the air, and he could hear the echoes of screams that should have died long ago. He heard water boiling and whips cracking. His vision locked in on a door, and he started to walk towards it. Looking down, he saw chains wrapped around his torso, binding his arms to his sides. He pulled against them, and they began to cut into his skin. Suddenly he fell and the door opened, letting in a light that shone like a beacon. He stood and walked towards it.

The passage of light led Jeremie back to consciousness. Slowly, he sat up and held his head, taking a long moment to recover and re-orient himself. The Wise Man heard Ulrich and Odd talking, and he concluded that he'd been asleep a lot longer than he had intended. He crawled out of the tent, hearing the back end of the other boys' conversation. "I'm telling you, Aelita will totally crack first!" Odd said.

Ulrich shook his head. "No way. I'll bet you twenty silver right now that Kitten holds out a lot longer than Laura does."

Odd smiled and nodded. "You're on!" The two boys shook hands, closing some deal that Jeremie had missed.

"What are you two talking about?" Jeremie asked.

"We're betting on who will crack under the pressure of a demon first." Odd explained, "Care to place a wager?"

The Wise Man was surprised. "You're gambling about who will get possessed first? That's horrible!"

Ulrich disagreed. "It isn't gambling unless you lose."

Jeremie rolled his eyes and went about his morning routine. When the girls woke, they packed up and began their journey again. By the afternoon they reached Cheystead, a town that had begun as just a farming community until they discovered gold in the nearby mine. Many people had flocked there to make their fortune, producing a boom town.

Or at least that's what the group of heroes had expected to find as they approached. Fortunes had turned in Cheystead, it seemed, however. The town seemed almost desolate, and the fields, which should have been overflowing with crops, were decorated only with the occasional dead stalk. "The earth here is dead, and the fields are a fire hazard," Aelita said quietly as they walked into the village square.

As Jeremie entered the town hall to speak to the mayor, Laura bought a quill and paper to post a message on the board in the center of the square. As she pinned it to the board, she noticed a message written on fancy parchment. She read it in horror, and the Fair ran back to the others. "Kadic has fallen!" She exclaimed, pointing to the message board. "I don't know how they got the message so fast, but Kadic fell to the drow."

Yumi covered her mouth. "That's horrible news! Now they only have to take Carthage and Lyoko is lost!"

Ulrich raised his eyebrow. "I don't think it'll be so easy to take Carthage. I've heard that the streets change every time you go outside." He half-laughed, "That's probably just an expression; nevertheless it will be a long time before Carthage falls."

Laura crossed her arms. "Still, we've got three major cities in this country and if two of them have fallen, we're much weaker. I guess we can forget going to Narza for help after this."

"Or Heartwood," Aelita added quietly. There was a sort of sadness in her voice that didn't seem to find its roots in empathy for the humans.

Jeremie rejoined them, and Laura relayed the message to him. A flash of fear crossed his face, and he asked, "Did the message say anything about the magistrates?"

Laura shook her head. "No, but it said that many citizens had faith in the magistrates' ability to protect them and ended up dying in the battle." She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Don't worry, my love. I'm sure Patrick and his parents made it out safely."

Jeremie sighed and nodded. "I hope you're right." He looked over his shoulder and motioned towards the road. "Anyway, we should get moving. There's no reason to stay here any longer."

The others nodded and headed back towards the road. The autumn leaves crunched under their feet, dryer than they should have been, even at this time of year. A farmer sprinted towards them and shouted, "Hey, you! Princess!" Laura seemed confused, but she turned as the farmer approached her. "So this is where you've been? Your country needs you and you're just walking along without a care in the world?"

She shook her head. "No, that isn't what's going—"

"Save your excuses! If you want to do something, why don't you start by helping your people?" He crossed his arms. "Can you irrigate our farms?! It hasn't rained since the 12th of Matrinalis! Can you save our crops?! We can't even make bread! Can you put the gold back in the mine?! We don't have any source of income! Our children are starving!"

Laura bit her lip nervously. "I—I'm sorry, I can't do anything about that. The only hope we have to save your children and farms is to defeat Xana. Then it will rain again."

"What good are you, then? A princess who cannot help her people? Disgraceful!" The farmer spat before he stormed off.

Aelita looked at the Fair, and with more courtesy than either had shown in weeks, she suggested, "I can irrigate the farms, if you need me to, though it may be too late to save the crops."

Laura shook her head. "They don't want your help; they want me to do something. But I cannot help them." She held her head in her hand. "Gods, this is getting so much worse."

 

4th of Frumentum

Heagrove was a small town, but richer than others they had visited by far. Most of the brick buildings were covered in painted cement. A crier stood in the center of the town, shouting the news he'd heard. He ran up to the Heroes when he saw them, and he smiled. "Have you heard anything new?" The crier asked. The Heroes reported the news of Xana, and he frowned. "Yes, I've heard. You aren't the only refugees who have passed through here. We've gotten refugees from Heartwood and Falcon's Bridge."

Jeremie folded his arms over his chest. "How many?"

The town crier shrugged. "Six of one, half dozen of another. No one really… amazing." His eyes sparkled as he said, "But we got a couple of interesting characters a few days ago. They didn't say where they were from, but they said they were looking for the only remaining tomb of one of the Witches of the Wilds!"

Yumi scrunched up her nose. "The Witches of the Wilds?"

Aelita explained. "The People call them the Asha'bellanaren, the Women of Many Years. They're extremely powerful magicians, most of whom entered Uthenera just before the human invasion ended, and it is said that they can enter and return from slumber at will. I can only think of one that survived long enough to make it to Arlathan, though. Humans have found most of their tombs."

Laura returned her gaze to the crier. "Did they say why?"

He shrugged. "Not really. They mentioned some ancient tome that tells of dragon taming, though—I imagine that's what they're after. Maybe they want to tame a dragon, or maybe they think that the dragons will reward them if they return the book."

Odd laughed. "Sounds like dragons take their reading very seriously."

Yumi eyed him playfully. "Is there anything dragons don't take seriously?"

Aelita looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm sure there must be something!" She thought for a moment. "Maybe knock-knock jokes?"

Ulrich shook his head with a laugh. "You keep thinking about that, Kitten. You let me know if you come up with anything."

Jeremie looked back at the crier. "Is there any other news?"

He thought for a moment, and then snapped. "Oh, yeah! Yesterday some guy came riding through here and said that pretty much every city in Replika is free of Lyoko control!"

Laura jumped. "What?! How did they overthrow us so quickly?"

"Oh, you're the princess, aren't you? Pardon my rudeness, milady." He bowed. "The soldiers caught word of Xana, and they started marching back this way. Won't be long now before Cortex falls, and gods know that I don't want to be around there when it does." He offered one piece of advice for the princess before he left. "Be careful, milady. There are many people who seek you dead if it will further the rebellion."

There was a flash in Laura's eyes that almost looked like fear, but it might have also been a glare from the sun.

 

10th of Frumentum

Laura's head was pounding. She'd gotten almost no sleep over the past six days, and consequently she was on edge. Jeremie had tried to convince her to sleep, but she waved him off. It was obvious that she was losing her touch on reality—her blonde hair was unkempt, and dark circles had formed under her eyes. The day before she'd attacked Ulrich when he had tried to speak to her, and she was embarrassed to learn what she had done as well as extremely distressed.

It didn't help when Aelita had said that she needed to sleep, or the next time she slept the spirits would tempt her and she would accept far too easily. Laura had responded by shouting nonsense at her, and she was so out of touch that the Outcast had begun to wonder if a spirit of madness hadn't already taken her.

Wandering into the next town, Laura was asked to remain outside with the aravel, as they didn't want to alarm anyone by showing them their princess taken by madness. She tried to focus by reading the books Jeremie kept inside the aravel, but her mind wandered, making the letters dance across the pages. Laura tried to cast simple spells, but her exhaustion caused the fire to either flicker out or burn uncontrollably. For the sake of herself and the aravel, she collapsed on one of the beds inside the aravel, and she closed her eyes.

What felt like only moments later, but more likely was hours, Laura was yanked off of the bed and thrown against the back wall of the aravel. She held her face in her hand, noticing the blood that had begun to run from her eyebrow.

Laura stood and turned, face to face with a man nearly a head taller than her dressed in leather dyed black and purple. "Who are you?" She demanded, summoning a fire between her hands.

"I am your death!" The man shouted, revealing a pair of ebony daggers. Laura screamed and sent fire at the assassin, distracting him enough so she could slide between his legs and out of the aravel.

She kept running into the village, shouting for the other Heroes as the assassin chased her. She turned and threw fire at him, setting the grass next to him on fire, and she tripped over an elevated sidewalk. She crawled away, using a nearby tree to pull herself off the ground. He threw a dagger at her, slicing her leg and startling her back onto the ground. The assassin stalked up to her, and he prepared to slash at the princess. She screamed, covering her face with her arms.

A kunai distracted the assassin, lodging itself in the tree next to his head. "Damn, I missed! That would've been a good shot, too." Yumi said, revealing herself to be hiding behind a column.

Ulrich charged out from an alley, engaging the assassin. "If you want to kill any one of us, you have to go through all of us!" He declared.

The assassin looked to over his new adversaries, and he then looked back down to the princess. He ignored the other two Heroes and walked closer to her. Aelita materialized behind the assassin and slapped him with Murray the Skull. He cringed and held the back of his head, giving Jeremie enough time to grab his fiancée and pull her out of harm's way.

The assassin charged after the Wise Man, and Odd slid down the slanted roof of a nearby building, pointing his arrow at the assassin. He fired it, pinning his foot to the earth. Yumi threw her Tessen fan, knocking the assassin forward onto his hands and knees. Ulrich sprinted over to him, stabbing him in his back. The Mercenary pushed against the assassin's back with his foot to remove the katanna.

The Heroes gathered together, and Odd kicked the assassin over. "I think that you had better start talking." Jeremie said flatly as Laura stood shakily and stood beside him. "Who hired you to kill Laura?"

The assassin had death written on his face. "I will say nothing," He wheezed, and he grabbed one of his daggers. Slowly, he brought it against his own throat.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Assassins are always so melodramatic. I mean, can't they just give up if they fail at their job? Our lives would be so much simpler." She kneeled and went through his bags and armor. "Yeah, here we go; a description of Laura and 'her companions.' I guess they did their homework."

Yumi handed the note to Jeremie, who pointed to a symbol at the bottom. "Look, this is the symbol for Replika, only it's red and black, not blue." Jeremie looked up at the others. "I'm guessing the rebels are trying to end the monarchy."

Laura started shaking. "Holy gods, they want me dead! What do we do? Oh, Minerva help us!"

Jeremie folded the note up and placed it in his mother's book bag. "I'll hold onto this for safekeeping. When the war is over and Lyoko re-conquers Replika, the rebels will be charged for treason as well as conspiracy." He turned his attention to Laura. "You are going to get sleep. You're no help if you're half-asleep and you may kill one of us thinking they're an assassin." He turned back to the other Heroes. "And we're all going to be extra careful from now on. No one mentions Laura is a princess unless absolutely necessary."

Odd sighed. "I thought we were already being extra careful? Does this mean we have to be extra, extra careful?"

Jeremie glared at the Scout. "This is no time for your jokes, Odd. If we don't act fast, Lyoko will fall apart at its seams." Aelita waited for Laura to insult her, but the Fair said nothing, obviously too rattled to say much of anything.

Laura held her elbows, trying to calm her tremors. "Ugh, this doesn't seem real. I feel like if I close my eyes, I'll wake up back at the castle and everything will be right again."

Ulrich gestured his head in agreement. "I never thought I'd say it, but I really miss being home."

"I miss my parents, and Hiroki…" Yumi said, and she looked at her feet. "…and William."

"This is the furthest away from home I've ever been," Odd mentioned quietly, as if it were embarrassing.

"I should've listened to my father… I never believed him." Jeremie muttered, and he looked over at Aelita, who had taken a great and sudden interest in her toes. He looked away, and then back to the group. "Anyway, we should keep moving."

As the Heroes began to walk away, Aelita caught Jeremie's shoulder. He turned to face her, and she waited until Laura was out of earshot. "We're going to have to talk sometime,"

Jeremie shook his head. "What is there to talk about?"

She seemed flustered for a moment. "About everything that's been going on lately! We have to talk about you, and me, and Laura, and… and the blood magic."

He looked like he was about to say something sharp, but he seemed to think better of it and instead said, "I'm not sure this is a conversation we should have right now. There is too much for us to do to wallow in self-pity."

Jeremie hesitated, but Laura called his name and he ran after her. Aelita watched him go, cursing herself for not being more aggressive. She started to walk after the others when a whisper in the shadows beckoned her closer. Aelita looked questioningly into the darkness, and she backed away from it. "No, come closer," A voice echoed. "I don't want to hurt you. I need your help."

"If you want my help, come out of the shadows and say it to my face." Aelita said, crossing her arms.

A boy with spikey brown hair dressed in green magician robes stepped out of the darkness. Aelita recognized his robes as those given to magicians training in Lyoko's military, and for a moment she questioned why a battlemage would be alone in the middle of a war. "My name is Theo. I need someone with knowledge of elven runes to save my comrades-in-arms."


	22. Autumn 7

Episode 7: Theo and the Asha'bellanar

10th of Frumentum

 

"Why do you need someone with knowledge of elven runes to save your comrades? It seems to me that you could do most of the work yourself. You're a military grade magician, after all." Aelita said. There was something strange about Theo, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"My comrades and I were excavating an elven ruin—strictly educational, not raiding—and we came across these… letters that were unfamiliar to us. One of our younger members tried to touch them and activated a trap which trapped my comrades behind and under rocks. I only managed to escape because I fled using magic." Theo explained. "However, my military training didn't teach me how to move rocks. The elves teach it, don't they? I don't know if you yourself can but you must be travelling with your clan. Maybe your leader can help me?"

"No, I'm not travelling with my clan, but I am a magician trained in the ancient ways and I can move the rocks." She narrowed her eyes. "Why were shemlen excavating an elven ruin? Humans don't really care all that much about us, do they?"

"We were looking for an ancient tome belonging to the dragons. If it pleases you, we will leave everything else in peace. We only want the book."

Aelita studied his eyes, taking a step forward to him to look deep into his eyes. Could she trust this shemlen? Would he truly leave elvhen artifacts in peace? There was a glimmer in his eye, though it wasn't malevolent. "Very well. I believe you, for now." She took a step back. "You probably won't be able to go very far in, depending on the type of ruin you're studying. We were notorious for preparing for tomb raiders. The doors are likely closed through rites and seals, and unless you can pass through the rites you won't be able to enter the inner sanctum. That's likely where you'll find your book."

Theo blinked. "I wasn't… can you help us enter the inner sanctum?"

"What kind of ruin is it?"

"A… memorial or a grave of some sort, I think."

Aelita turned away to think. "If that is the kind of ruin that you think it is, there will likely be a water alter and a blood seal before the actual door that opens to the touch of one who is recognized. But unfortunately there is no way for me to know what kind of blood we need until we actually see the symbol at the blood seal."

"A… blood seal? Is someone going to have to die?" Theo asked nervously.

Aelita seemed surprised. "No! No. We just need a sample of blood. If we're lucky, it'll only take blood in general, and I can just use my own."

She was about to go into more detail on the seals as Ulrich approached her. "What are you still doing here? Captain Bossyboots said that its time to leave."

"Ulrich, this is Theo. He asked me to help him rescue his companions and retrieve a book." Aelita introduced the battlemage.

Ulrich looked at Theo and back to the Outcast. "Kitten, you and I are going to have to have a talk about the trustworthiness of people you meet in the shadows."

She laughed. "They've helped me before!"

Ulrich looked back to Theo. A light went off in his head. "Wait, you look familiar. Have we met?"

Theo cocked his head to the side. "Perhaps. Did you serve in the military? Or did you sail the ships to the northern colonies?" He asked.

He pondered this. "Maybe. That could be it…" He didn't sound too sure, but he dropped it. "So, what is it that you're looking for?"

The battlemage explained it again to the Mercenary, and then turned to Aelita. "Before my comrades were trapped, we saw a mural. If what you're telling me is true, I think that they might have been clues on opening the path. The one that caught my eye was—well, it was an eye. It was crossed out and there was faded paint around it that might have been red. But there were others—there was a waterfall and an ornate jug, as well as a lot of writing."

Aelita's eyes lit up and she turned to Ulrich. "That's it! Ulrich, you can open the blood seal!" When he seemed confused, she elaborated. "The crossed-out eye is the elvhen symbol for the Blind! This Asha'bellanar was likely a healer, and after so long entombed she was likely worried about spirits when she awoke. Using the blood of one of the Blind would eliminate the fear of falling to a spirit."

"I know that I'm one of the Blind, but are you sure that this is wise?" Ulrich asked. "I know that this Asha'bellanar is important to your culture, but if Jeremie finds out—"

"Jeremie doesn't need to know, and if we're fast he may barely notice we're gone. You know how he is, lethallin." She waved him off before pressing her hands together and begging, "Please? You're the only Blind person that I know and the only person in general that I can trust with this!"

Ulrich sighed, "Fine, fine, fine." He looked to Theo. "How long will this take?"

Theo shook his head and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. "Not too long. The ruin is only a half hour that way and with your help we should be in and out in less than fifteen minutes!"

Ulrich looked at Aelita, who shrugged with a smile. Together they turned and Theo who led them into the forest. As they were walking, Theo was talking about his comrades—he was going on and on about them, suggesting they'd been through a lot together. All the while Ulrich listened, trying to figure out why Theo seemed familiar. The battlemage spoke in a tone that suggested he was of higher birth, perhaps a younger son seeking a title of his own. This wasn't an uncommon endeavor. He also walked with a limp—though Theo hadn't mentioned it, it was likely he was injured in the collapse. All signs pointed towards soldier, but Theo just seemed… strange.

The entrance to the tomb had been forced open, the scratches on the door suggesting some animal, but no wild beast was large or powerful enough to create that kind of damage spare a dragon. However, the space was not large enough to accommodate a dragon nor would a dragon have used its claws to open the tomb—fire would have been far more effective. Aelita examined the markings, trying to make out symbols carved into the cherry wood panels. Weather and violence had made the patterns and symbols almost unrecognizable.

Theo pointed at the rock pile blocking the view of the rest of the tomb. "I was the only one who managed to escape. The others are trapped on the other side." He said, motioning for Aelita to clear the rubble. She held her hands out and pulled back, dislocating some of the piled rocks, causing them to tumble down. She repeated the motion two more times, creating a hole large enough for people to crawl through. Theo climbed up the rocks, cutting his palm in his haste. The battlemage slid down the other side, relieved to find four of his friends had survived. The others had been crushed in the collapse. There was a pile of wood near the end of the corridor, and it seemed that the soldiers had begun preparing coffins for their dead.

When the two Heroes joined Theo on the other side of the rock pile, Ulrich noticed similar markings on their bodies as the ones on the door. When he questioned this and the origins of the fallen soldiers, Theo brushed him off almost diplomatically. Aelita pointed at the mural. "Is this the mural you were talking about?" Theo nodded, and Aelita studied it. She closed her eyes and listened to the humming of the runes, deciphering their translations. Next, she walked over to the end of the corridor, examining the paintings and carvings before tracing the seam in the wall. She summoned water to clean the panel, and then she motioned for Ulrich to walk over to her. "This is when we need a sample of your blood. Here, give me your hand. I promise this won't hurt any more than it has to."

Ulrich gave her his hand, and she swiftly brought her dagger across his palm. He jerked it back in pain, his fingers curled around the wound. "Ir abelas! Oh, I'm so sorry!" She apologized. He shook his head with a smile, and he rubbed his palm nervously across the panel that she'd cleaned. The stone shook for a moment before opening, but it opened, revealing an untouched elven chantry behind it.

The room was brightly lit, though there were no lamps or skylights for it to be natural light. In the center of the room was a waterfall, filling the room with a cool mist. Behind the waterfall was a tall stone door, the only dark part of the room blending in with the light beauty of the chantry. Aelita drew a sharp breath in and held it, her eyes wide and sparkling as a smile spread across her face.

But before she could move, she leaned against the wall as the blade of Erahalam pierced her chest. The staff pulled itself out of the Outcast, soaring away from the chantry opening and through the hole in the rocks.

"Are you alright?" Ulrich asked, "That looked painful." He added while sending a warning look towards the soldiers. Theo motioned for his comrades to be still.

Aelita smiled and stood straight. "Murray hates old places. He'll wait outside for us, no doubt." Ulrich looked at her questioningly, but she smiled wider with a shrug and entered the chantry.

 

Yumi paced back and forth nervously, and Jeremie nonchalantly asked her to stop before she wore a grove into the earth. "Where are they? They should've been back half an hour ago, if that!" She worried aloud, holding her mouth in her hand. Her fingers were twitching, and she'd pulled back her dark hair to keep it from interrupting her train of thought.

Odd looked at Jeremie. "Does this feel very familiar to you?"

Jeremie looked at him without humor in his eyes. "That's not funny."

Laura held her head in her hand. "You're giving off an aura of distress that is making me freak out. Could you stop?" She asked flatly.

Yumi crossed her arms. "Ulrich and Aelita are missing. Why aren't you worried?" She demanded. "They could be lost or dead or gods know what else!"

"I worry all the time, but Yumi, it has only been half an hour!" Jeremie said loudly. "We left them in town. Where would they go?"

Yumi was about to storm closer to him when something struck the back of her head. She rubbed it and turned. Erahalam levitated behind her, and she looked at it in confusion. She tried to grab it, but it flew out of her reach. "Murray?" Odd said, standing to grab it. The staff dodged his touch too, and suddenly the teenagers were all trying to grab the staff, even Laura. It was almost like a game; there was laughter and friendly encouragement. It was Jeremie who finally grabbed the staff, and suddenly the game was over.

The staff yanked him across camp, what had been playful teasing became suddenly violent. Laura rushed over to her fiancée and held his waist as they both tried to keep the staff from pulling the Wise Man away from camp. Jeremie tried to let go but his fingers felt as if they'd been welded to the wood. As the pulling grew stronger, Yumi grabbed Laura, and Odd grabbed Yumi.

The staff overpowered all four humans, locking them in place as it did Jeremie and beginning a violent journey through the forest. Erahalam picked up speed, its maneuvers causing the chain of people to occasionally smash into trees as it carried the foursome to its destination. When the staff arrived it released its unwilling passengers then stopped levitating, dropping to the ground just in front of them and rolling into the elven ruin. The group picked itself up, flexing sore muscles and checking what were sure to be new bruises. Jeremie spotted the staff, walked over to it and picked it up. He tied it to the strap on his mother's book bag and motioned to the others. "I guess we're supposed to go inside."

 

Aelita basked like an animal in the white light that seemed to come from nowhere. She twirled in the light, dust particles spinning around her feet as she danced. For a moment, Ulrich thought those specks were red, like his baby sister was dancing not in light but in blood. He scolded himself for such an image. Theo cleared his throat, pulling the Mercenary back to reality. "I see that you're having fun, Aelita, but we have a job to do."

She turned and smiled at him. "Oh! Of course. Ir abelas," She replied before gliding over to the waterfall in the center of the room. Aelita waded into the pool that had collected but never seemed to overflow until she added her weight to it. She grabbed the earthen pot sunken at the bottom of the pool. The Outcast examined the archaic designs painted and carved into it. How long had it been submerged? How had those patterns not faded in that time? She shook her head and filled the pot with water.

While Theo, his soldiers, and Ulrich stood and watched, Aelita carried the pot carefully to a wooden altar behind the waterfall. Once there, she placed it on the center of the altar, and then observed the wooden panels pressed into the altar. She took a few steps back and mimicked the position shown on the panels. Aelita pressed her forehead against the back of her hands, and she knelt with her head and hands against the floor. She muttered several stanzas from an ancient elven poem until she felt an aura of approval around her.

She stood and walked around the altar, nodding to Ulrich before she pressed her hand against the stone door. A white light illuminated the patterns carved into it and the door opened, revealing the inner sanctum. The coffin sat on an elevated platform in the center of the room, the stairs visible and located on the other side. Aelita pressed her hands together in excitement and Ulrich walked up to gawk with her.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and Aelita screamed, falling to her knees. The four melee soldiers took advantage of Ulrich's distraction and bound him, separating him from his weapon. The soldiers bound Aelita as well, and the Heroes watched as a man appeared out of the mist.

It was Thomas Vincent. He didn't carry the typical sword distributed to the magistrates, however—his weapon was curved like those the dark elves carried, and the owl embroidered on his chest had been painted over with the symbol of House Kenval. "Well, well, well. Look who you've found?" T.V said, glancing over to the soldiers. "You've done well. These two are wanted by the Matron Mother."

Ulrich scrunched up his nose in anger. "You're working with T.V?" He shouted at Theo.

Theo only laughed, looking down at his feet. He glanced up at them, still laughing. His eyes were glowing like fire, the mark of a possessed magician. This surprised the Heroes—Theo had shown no outward sign of possession, but now it was obvious. T.V walked over to Aelita and grabbed her chin. "I recognize your face. You're the bitch-born changeling who ruined everything. I'll enjoy dragging your corpse back to Xana."

Aelita spit in his face. "You won't ever get the pleasure because I will destroy you for what you did to Edna!"

T.V wiped his face in disgust, and he shook his head. "We should keep them alive until we have the tome." He commanded his lackeys. "We don't know if we'll face more tests." He added. He motioned for Theo to go back to the entrance. "Besides, it will be all the more sweet to kill them knowing they helped further the cause for the drow."

Aelita and Ulrich looked shamefully at one another, fear in their eyes and despair in their hearts.

 

Odd climbed over the rocks first, but he stopped when he observed a boy with spikey brown hair standing in the center of the corridor. The other Heroes joined him, the last of which was Laura. She looked closer at the boy and she recognized him. "Theo…? Is it really you?"

Theo looked at Laura. "Laura? What are you doing here?"

She looked away. "It's a long story," She muttered. "You disappeared two years ago. Your mother was worried sick about you! Is this where you've been hiding?"

Jeremie looked at his fiancée. "I'll take it that you know him?"

Laura looked back at him. "He's my cousin. We discovered our magic together, around the same time. While I dedicated my studies to healing and prophecy, Theo thought it would be a good idea to blow things up for a living." She crossed her arms. "I hope you have a good reason for hiding in a savage's cave rather than helping your country like you are sworn to do."

Theo threw back his head and laughed. "My country? My country has fallen and I have chosen the winning side. As will you. As will you all!" He looked down and began to change. He began to swell up and his teeth began to stick out in all directions. He resembled the man who had ambushed them outside of Kadic, but more frighteningly—he still resembled who he had been in sanity.

The Heroes prepared for battle as the possessed Theo charged them. Odd rushed to the top of the rock pile and fired arrows in quick succession, Yumi struck at his weak points with her fans and her staff, Jeremie distracted the monster from the others and Laura provided fire and support when needed. Theo knocked the shield from Jeremie's arms and sliced at his exposed arm. Laura used a controlled fireball to knock her cousin against the rock pile. Odd slid down the pile and fired an arrow that wedged between the crevasses, and Yumi threw her fans to slice at Theo's throat.

Jeremie stood, and Laura healed the wound. "We should keep moving. The others may be further in."

Odd stopped them. "Wait, people are coming." Yumi motioned for them to be quiet, and she slid on her mask, fading into invisibility. She drew two kunai and waited for the melee soldiers to approach her. She threw them at their necks, and then removed the mask as Odd said, "I don't hear anyone else."

The Heroes entered the chantry, and Aelita called them over to her and Ulrich quietly. "Theo is working for T.V, who is working for Xana!" Ulrich explained as Yumi began to work on freeing him from his bonds. "He's got two more lackeys in there, highly trained."

When Odd had freed Aelita, she jumped up and grabbed the earthen pot. She pushed on a tiny slab of granite that she'd 'forgotten' to mention to Theo. A small shrine rose up from the ground, made of carved white stone with elven runes decorating the base. She poured the water into the bowl on top of the shrine, and as the last drop left the jug, it shattered in her hands. The Outcast slid over to Ulrich, rubbing her fingers across the cut in his hand. She then rushed back to the shrine, dipping her stained fingertips into the cold water.

The water turned blood red, and the water drained out of the bowl. Jeremie realized too late what Aelita had done. "You're going to wake the witch! Have you gone insane?!" He shouted at her.

"No, she can help us!" Aelita shouted back. The red water followed glass veins to the coffin, and Aelita motioned for the others to watch.

The coffin's lid flew off as if pushed with great force, and a woman with long grey hair stepped out of the casket. She looked up towards the sky, decorated in black leather with mithril buttons. She looked at T.V and his lackeys, who were digging through the treasures that were rightfully hers. Her body began to glow, and the high-pitched squeal of a dragon that had been done wrong shattered the silence. The Asha'bellanar did not transform into a large dragon, but it was large enough to create a column of fire that left ash on the ceiling, and she caused the platform to quake. The Heroes heard T.V shout something, but it was drowned out by the sounds of screams.

After a few moments, there was another flash of light, and then silence. The Asha'bellanar appeared, dragging Thomas Vincent by his hair back towards the Heroes. In a crackly and exasperated voice that gradually healed, she said, "I believe that this is one of your pets, child of the invasion." She tossed a burned, bruised T.V to Laura, who back away from it. He landed only centimeters from her feet. The Asha'bellanar looked to Aelita. "Ah, and here we are! I was half convinced that the People would leave me here to rot in this place forever." The old woman shook out her hair, and it turned a yellow that rivaled the sun. Her eyes were the color of the sky after a rainstorm, and her face slowly regained youth.

Aelita curtsied, keeping her head bowed. "Andaran atish'an, Asha'bellanar," She greeted, not coming up from her curtsy until she was bid to.

"So young and bright," The Asha'bellanar said, her voice now youthful. "Do you know who I am, beyond that title?"

"I know only a little," Aelita replied shamefully.

"Much as I suspected. It seems that not much has changed since the last ones entered my tomb." She turned and mused. "The last was a very peculiar couple of elves—claimed they knew more about the things I kept in death than I did. It separated them, and caused much misery. That was… many years ago now, I think." She turned and eyed Aelita, and her attention turned to the others in the party. "I have been called many things in my lifetime. I am an Asha'bellanar, as you have seen, but that is not my only name. I have been called Junfahiilkro by the dragons, Gashkek by the orcs, Ksialaka by the spirits, Yolanda by the elves, witch by the humans…" She laughed now, "…and an old hag who talks too much by one with more intelligence than may have been wise."

The Asha'bellanar looked up at the ceiling and back to the elf in front of her. "You have done much for me, but I must ask of you another. Take this to the end of the journey. You will know what to do with it then." She handed Aelita a ribbon that had been tied around her wrist. It wriggled in Aelita's fingers, almost snake-like in its motions. "Now, it is time for me to depart, but before I go, a word of advice? There are men who struggle against destiny and yet achieve only an early grave. There are men who flee destiny only to have it swallow them whole. And then there are men who embrace destiny and do not show their fear.

"The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss, for it is dark and unknown, filled with hardship. But should you who stand before me chose to be men that will embrace their destiny, the abyss shall not consume a world that lives in terror." She turned as her body began to glow again. "A new day will dawn and only the strong will survive."

The Asha'bellanar transformed into not a dragon but a phoenix, fluttering its wings and soaring out of the tomb. The Heroes looked at one another. "She was… strange would be the nice way to put it, I guess." Yumi said.

Jeremie glared at Aelita. "You took a big risk waking her up. She could've been possessed."

Aelita tied the ribbon, which was light blue, around her wrist. She didn't respond to Jeremie, but rather walked closer to Laura. She kicked T.V over with her heel and forced him awake by kicking his stomach. He stared at her with fear in his eyes. She thought about what Yolanda had said, and she smiled as she questioned what kind of man T.V was. "Are you a strong man, Thomas?" She asked, "Or have you struggled and fled destiny?"

"Gods spit on you!" T.V. cursed rather than answer her question.

Aelita shook her head. "Then the die is cast and you shall commit to the flame.'" She replied, stabbing him in the gut. Laura wanted to stop her, but instead the Fair looked at her hands. Aelita grabbed T.V's forehead and used every ounce of her magic to set his blood on fire, causing the Knight Templar to shriek. His body was smoking, filling the air with the smell of burning flesh. Yumi turned away, and Odd tried to grab her shoulders. She turned and swatted at him, leaving a trail of lightning behind where her fingers pierced the air. Jeremie silenced her magic, and she screeched, resulting in dirty looks from both Ulrich and Aelita. "Why would you do that?!" She shouted, standing.

Jeremie scowled at her. "I know that you're angry, but—"

"Angry? You think that I'm ANGRY?!" Aelita roared. "This… monster killed the only people in the world who ever cared about me! Edna, Nico… everyone, even the children!"

The Wise Man took a step closer to her. "And so the best way to mourn their deaths is to set a man on fire from the inside?" He asked loudly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why shouldn't I? He did the same to Edna!" The Outcast's eyes were filling with tears.

"Do you think Edna would want this?" Jeremie asked rhetorically. "If you kill him, Aelita, you will become him!"

"Who are you to say what Edna would have wanted, shem?" Aelita shouted. She furrowed her brows, but her expression changed as she continued to speak, "My hahren… my hahren would not want this." She looked at her toes, then glared at T.V but spoke to Jeremie. "He cannot be allowed to walk away from here."

Jeremie untied Erahalam from the strap of his mother's book bag. He handed it to her, watching her fingers as they curled around it. Aelita walked over to T.V, who was still twitching from her blood magic. Aelita lifted the staff above her head and drove the blade into the Knight Templar's heart. She then forced it inside of her chest, causing it to disappear. "Let's go. There is no tome to find here."

Ulrich looked at her in shock. "Wait… that sounded suspicious. Did you… know?"

The Outcast turned and simply smiled. Innocently, she asked, "Know what?"

"Kitten… that was devious." She shook her head as if she hadn't a clue what he meant. Aelita walked out of the room, though her stride offered no light on her thoughts.

Laura shivered. "That was kind of scary. How much of this did she plan?" She tiptoed around the corpse with marked and smoking skin. "I still cannot believe Theo turned to a demon. We both swore we'd never deal with demons."

Jeremie tried to offer comfort, though he was still trying to forget what he had witnessed. "T.V. might have forced him to do it."

Laura nodded. "It isn't outside the realm of possibility. Still… what did we see here?" She rubbed her arms. "The Veil is thin but not enough for that to have been an illusion. And the witch—Yolanda or whatever her real name was—she was talking about destiny. Can she see the future too? Like the Warrior?"

Jeremie rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure that I believe in destiny, but… that was weird. It was like she knew we would be there."

Yumi turned her attention to the floor. "It seems like a lot of people know where we'll be lately."

"The way I see it," Odd said, folding his arms behind his neck, "we either follow her advice or we don't. We won't change, much. Who cares whether it is destiny or not? We're doing a damn good job at what we do."

Ulrich shook his head and followed after Aelita, who was now far from sight. "Let's just leave. I don't want to look at this place any longer."


	23. Autumn 8

Episode 8: I Will Not Bow

26th of Frumentum

 

The path ahead led out of the forest sector of Lyoko and into the mountainous sector. It lay between two cliffs, and while this road was more dangerous geographically and longer time wise according to Odd, Jeremie had deemed this the best way to travel. When asked about why he'd chosen this road, he simply said that they were dangerously close to the southern coast of Lyoko. Aelita had startled at this, and for the past few hours she had said nothing.

"Watch out for avalanches and ambushes. This is a dangerous road," Jeremie warned as the Heroes began down the path. Something malevolent hung in the air, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "I don't like this." He said quietly.

Odd smirked at the Wise Man. "'I don't like this'? That's right up there with 'what could possibly go wrong?'!" He laughed at himself, folding his arms behind his head. He heard a snap on the cliff to the right of the aravel, and he pointed up at it. "It's a trap!"

Sure enough, rocks collapsed behind them, and a small group of humans in leather armor appeared in front of them, effectively blocking any chance the Heroes had to escape. On the cliff to their left, three men appeared. Two were in leather armor like the others, but one was in thicker leather with heavy iron gauntlets and greaves. Aelita's eyes widened at the sight of him, and she hid behind the boys. Jeremie and Ulrich noticed this, and they returned their attention to the men on the cliff as the man in heavy leather spoke. "You are in possession of stolen property! Back away from the slave now and you'll be spared!"

Odd looked over his shoulder at Aelita. "I suppose they're talking about you?"

She nodded. "Slave hunters," She murmured.

Jeremie took a step forward. "Aelita is a free woman!" He shouted. The Outcast smiled, but it was gone faster than it arrived.

The man raised his right hand, and the humans around them drew their weapons. "This is your last warning! Hand over the slave now!" He shouted.

Ulrich drew his sword, and the other Heroes echoed him. "Death first!" He shouted.

The slaver archers in front of the aravel began to fire shots, and Yumi spun her bo staff to stop the arrows. Jeremie and Ulrich ran to engage the archers, Ulrich slightly behind Jeremie, as the Wise Man was using his shield to stop the arrows. Ulrich leapt out from behind Jeremie once they were close enough and stabbed the first archer. He decapitated the second after the slaver stabbed his shoulder with a steel dagger. Jeremie bashed his shield against the slaver in front of him while Ulrich stabbed him between the ribs. The Mercenary pounced upon the fourth slaver, raising his katanna above his head and stabbing him in the throat. Jeremie sliced at the fifth, holding him down until Ulrich could finish him off.

Laura and Odd took out the lesser slavers on the cliff while Yumi threw her fan at the leader. He stumbled over the edge, and Aelita used the opportunity to strike him with a boulder, sending him into the cliff on the other side. The blow likely killed him instantly. One of the lesser slaves stood, and Aelita created an icicle at the same time Laura created a fire bolt. He was sent back out of sight.

They remained ready for battle for several moments, listening and waiting for more slavers to ambush them. None arrived, and they relaxed. Laura folded her arms and asked, "Aelita, why would these slavers ambush us? It's an awful lot of effort just to recapture one slave."

Aelita laughed nervously. "It might be because I might have accidentally-on-purpose murdered a nobleman and half a dozen bouncers in my escape attempt?" She said with a nervous grin, fiddling with her fingers.

Jeremie took a in a deep breath, pushing his hair back. "We're going to need more than that."

"Well," She looked off into the distance, likely in the direction of Arak-Muna. "That's kind of a long story."

Jeremie ordered the Heroes to make camp at the top of the cliff for a high vantage point. When they were settled, he asked Aelita to begin her story.

 

25th of Parvulis, 5:03 Guardian

Aelita had been relying on her magic to keep her alive for a little over two months, and she was no closer to Arlathan now than she had been when she was imprisoned in the Oubliette. More frightening than that, she was overcome with the desire to lie down and die. She'd tried to starve herself, but she lacked the self-control. She'd even come face-to-face with a pack of wolves, but they ignored her.

Today, she was determined to kill herself. Aelita looked over the edge of a cliff she'd found, and she spread her arms out, feeling the wind as it tried to push her away from her cause. She fought against it, spinning around and falling back. The air forced her long hair to blow into her face, twisting around her like fire. For the first time in a long time, Aelita felt free.

Suddenly, something struck her back, knocking her off course and spinning her to face the ground. She saw what was going on—the Garden, as Edna had called it, was trying to keep her from dying. A root emerged from the cliff in an attempt to catch her, though the momentum was too great, and just slapped her off her course again. This happened more and more, the time between the strikes getting shorter until at some point two emerged at the same time.

Aelita groaned as she realized that even if she fell now, she wouldn't perish. She was only about a meter off of the ground. She sat up, her midsection hurting, though nothing seemed to be broken. She slapped the cliff's face, and the roots sank back inside. Aelita landed on her feet, and she collapsed onto the earth, staring up at the sky. Her hair was a mess now as it surrounded her, and she was sure that when she sat up, leaves and twigs would be caught in it. She covered her eyes and started to cry.

She heard people approach her, though she didn't move. "Leave me alone here to die," She said as her voice bounced up and down from her sobs.

"Oh, but that would be such a waste of elf-flesh!" One of the people around her said, feigning disappointment. Aelita shot up and looked at the people around her. They wore leather and carried serrated weapons, and on their necks were tattoos that Edna had told her marked a slave pusher. Aelita pulled up the earth to separate them, and she jumped and scurried away from him. The slavers rushed around the elevated earth, and one shouted, "She's a mage! Get her!"

Aelita turned and sent ice shards at the slavers to distract them as she attempted to transform into an owl. One of the slavers threw a chain at her, pulling her to the ground when it wrapped around her ankle. She looked at the runes on it, and discovered very quickly they were the same as the ones magistrates used. Having nothing to cut herself with, Aelita tried to bite through her own flesh, but when the slavers saw this, they wrapped chains around her wrists, tying them behind her back. They muzzled her with a scold's bridle, and when she tried to move her tongue she experienced extreme pain. "Lucky catch, eh boys?" One of the slavers said.

"A magician girl, and she's young at that." Another commented. "She'll fetch a fine price to whoever wants her."

The first man who had teased her looked at her and smiled. "I suppose we should at least do that person a courtesy by taming her first." He took a step closer, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She heard whispering, and suddenly someone was dragging her. She turned to look at them, and they threw her into a cage with three others.

The cage started moving, and Aelita examined the faces of the elves around her. All were bloody and bruised, and most were chained. She tried to force herself to wake up, as if this were some kind of nightmare. Edna had taught her about nightmares, hadn't she? But every time Aelita opened her eyes, every time she caused herself pain to attempt to wake up, she was still trapped inside her nightmare.

A few hours later, they arrived at a tall gate made of wooden pikes. One of the slavers made a bird call, and the gates opened. The slavers brought the cage to the center of the port. Aelita could see the high gate that blocked the view of the ocean, as well as the dock where ships brought in slaves from overseas. Even there, an iron gate prevented slaves from trying to swim away.

One of the slavers dragged her out of the cage and into a tiny hut. Here, a woman dressed far too nicely to be a slave removed her muzzle. She efficiently and rather gruffly removed the clothes Aelita had been wearing for the past two months—a ragged white shirt and long blue skirt—Leaving her shivering and feeling terribly vulnerable as she pushed her onto a stool. The woman played with Aelita's hair, bouncing it in her hands. "You have beautiful hair," The woman said flatly, her accent suggesting she was a noble from Deutschland.

"Thank you," Aelita replied weakly, her voice shaky. She looked at herself in a dirty mirror adjacent to her, constantly aware of the woman's appraising eyes on her. She looked worse than she felt—she had lost weight, obvious especially in her face, and her eyes had lost their youthful glimmer. Her hair was wild, reaching her midsection and rampant with split ends. The woman appeared behind her, and she held Aelita's long hair over her head. She took a pair of scissors to it, and Aelita watched in horror as her hair fell, now not even reaching her ears. Her hands jumped up to her mouth, and the woman began to shave what little remained of Aelita's hair off with a razor. Her hair fell in clumps to the floor, and when the woman finally finished, the elf rubbed her now bare scalp.

The woman pushed Aelita off of the stool and threw a dirty tunic into her hands. "Go on. Get to work."

Aelita looked up at her in confusion. "I don't know where I'm supposed to go." She pulled the dirty tunic over her head. It prickled her skin; whatever it was made of, it irritated Aelita's skin, though nothing had really bothered her before.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Go find Mirianye! Go on!"

She pushed Aelita out of the door, and the elf looked around the slave port. Hundreds of elves worked there, and Aelita watched more than one drop dead of exhaustion. Everywhere, all the time, she heard whips snapping and screams from the poor souls they struck. Someone snapped one in her direction and shouted in a strange language she'd never heard. She scurried away from it, and she spotted a girl about a year older than her. Aelita followed this girl, and she led her to a tall elven woman whose hair had begun to grow in a mousy shade of brown. When the woman spotted Aelita, she was revealed to have eyes that were as black as night. Unlike other elven adults Aelita had met, this woman had not earned her vallaslin—Edna would have called her a "woman-child."

"Look, Emily—you've got a follower." This woman said, and the elven girl Aelita had shadowed turned. Her eyebrows were black, suggesting she had once had black hair, and her eyes were dark too. She squinted, as if it were difficult for her to see. "How old are you, sweet thing?" The woman asked, getting on Aelita's eye level.

"I'm eleven," Aelita said.

"You're eleven!" The woman repeated. "I suppose that's old enough. My name is Mirianye, and I take the pretty girls they send to me and train them to be… escorts." Her voice trailed off. "But you can call me Mamae Asha. All of my girls do. Now, sweet thing, what is your name?"

Aelita looked at her feet. "My name is Aelita." She scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What's an escort?"

Mamae Asha didn't bother to sugarcoat it. "It's a fancy word for a whore." She thought for a second. "Well, an upper class whore. But still a whore."

 

18th of Molioris, 5:04 Guardian

Eight months later it was Aelita's name day, and the occasion was marked by Aelita officially beginning her training with Mamae Asha. She'd watched the lessons before, though mostly she ran errands. Mamae Asha taught her songs to sing and dances to perform to grab the attention of men. At those things Aelita excelled—she enjoyed singing and dancing. There were other lessons that Aelita never properly learned.

The first of which was the actual wrapping her mind around the fact she was a slave. Aelita held onto the idea she could one day be free. "Listen, sweet thing, if you want your freedom so badly, I'll tell you what you have to do," Mamae Asha said, "You had better hope that some nobleman comes down here and thinks that you're pretty enough to push out babies. That's the only way women make it out of here free."

Aelita disagreed. "That's not freedom."

"It's the closest you'll ever get!" Mamae Asha explained. Then, in a softer tone, she added, "Think of it like this. A nobleman picks you up here. He takes you back to his mansion in some big city like Cortex or Kadic. It'll be all the fun of being married without the commitment or the stress!"

"Or the dignity," Aelita shook her head. "I don't think that's true. He bought me, and if the reason was to 'make babies,' as you say, I think that he expects some kind of commitment. And I don't know about you, but I think just being around him would stress me out."

Mamae Asha tore at her hair, or what remained of it—the slavers had cut it the month before. "You're too critical of this! Listen, I'll put it to you plainly—men will escape this by death. But women are lucky. We can escape through babies."

"I don't think that's true!"

"The humans want more humans! If your children have human fathers, they will be human!"

"You say 'fathers' like there will be more than one."

"I'm being realistic."

"Maybe so, but I know that I'm meant for more than this. I want my freedom!" Aelita said. She stood and looked outside at the stars. "I want to go to Arlathan. I want to be with the People. I want to be free. I will be free!"

Mamae Asha walked over to Aelita and gently took her shoulders. She sat down with the child and said quietly, "Sweet thing, I know that you want this unattainable thing that exists inside your head, this thing you call freedom but child, you cannot have it!" She grabbed Aelita's hands. "Even if you do manage to escape, even if you do make it to Arlathan, do you think you'll ever be truly free? This place destroys people, Aelita. That destruction will follow you for the rest of your life."

"The People have learned to live with much sorrow," Aelita said. "Edna taught me suledin; endure."

"You must endure, obviously. You'll die otherwise. And trust me, sweet thing; you don't want to die around here." Mamae Asha pulled Aelita closer, "But you cannot escape either, nor can you forget."

 

28th of Cassus

It was the dead of winter, and Aelita was convinced that she would freeze. She'd never been this cold before—not when she'd spent nights alone in the Scarwood Forest, or when she'd been trapped in the Oubliette. This winter seemed colder than the last.

Her fingers were numb, and she'd been tasked to carry alternate goods to the caravans for some merchants who were headed north. She was frail now, her bones showing in many places, and if not for Mamae Asha's intervention, death would likely be written on her face. She tripped over her own feet, dropping the goods she carried, breaking something small and ugly. The Overseer shouted at her, and she could only make herself as tiny as she could. He dragged her away from the line and into a tent.

The Overseer ordered her to remove her tunic, and when she had, he tied her binds to chains against the wall. He grabbed a whip that lay on the table. He used it to strike her. With every strike she cried out, though after she would count it, as she had been taught. She focused on the number, knowing if she lost the count he would start over. Mamae Asha appeared what felt like hours later, though likely it was only a few minutes. She gave the message to the Overseer, and then when he left, she grabbed a damp rag and walked over to Aelita. "How can it be that someone who is so graceful when she dances be so clumsy when she works?" She teased lightly, though she stopped when Aelita cried out in pain. Clearly she was not in the mood. "Child, I keep telling you that you don't live in a fantasy world. This is real. You have to accept it. This will keep happening until you do." Mamae Asha began to wipe the blood off of Aelita's back. The water was cold, and Aelita cringed. She arched her back and took a breath in, and the blood was absorbed by the wounds. Mamae Asha grabbed her shoulders and shook her, breaking her concentration and causing the wounds to open up slightly more. "Aelita, no! If they see you using that kind of magic they'll kill you!"

"Death would be preferable to this," Aelita cried, looking up at the sky. "If you won't let them kill me, and you won't let nature take me, then why don't you do something useful for once in your life and end me now?!"

"Death is not the answer!" Mamae Asha said, grabbing Aelita's chin. "I will do what I must to keep you alive. You do what you're best at in return."

Aelita yanked her head away and looked at her knees as Mamae Asha freed her arms. "And what is that? Sing? Dance? Bring in money for the shemlen?"

"Endure," Mamae Asha said firmly. "You can be strong, sweet thing. Be brave. Be strong. Wait for the men to come, and then you can be as free as you'll ever be."

Aelita looked off into the distance. "And for a moment I actually thought that you were giving me good advice. But…" Mamae Asha took in a deep breath as markings appeared on Aelita's right arm and her cheeks. They were pink, and they seemed to glow for a moment before Aelita spoke again. "…I will endure. I will not bow."

 

29th of Molioris, 5:05 Guardian

The 'men' had come early. It didn't really matter—the girls had been ready for weeks. At least, the fourteen-year-olds were. Though the girl they had ignored the last time they had come seemed to be the only girl they saw. Aelita sat with the younger girls, teaching them to play the lute. Aelita had surpassed her teachers in the art, though it was clear by her expression that she was simply going through the motions and no longer enjoying the music. Mamae Asha stepped between the men and folded her arms. "She's only thirteen! She hasn't had time to complete the training!"

"It's been two years that you've had her! How long could you possibly need?" One of the men asked.

"She's just a child!" Mamae Asha protested.

The second man chuckled. "That's never stopped anyone. You know that as well as I."

"We had a deal! She needs another year!"

"If she stays here for another year, she'll die!" The first man argued. He pointed at her. "Look at her! She won't survive another winter! If she comes with us, we can put some meat back on her bones. She'll survive." When Mamae Asha hesitated, he said flatly, "Listen, Mirianye. What would you rather have? Would you rather watch your pet suffer and die or would you rather send her away where she can live far longer if she's useful?"

Mamae Asha sighed, and she called Aelita over into the hut where the fourteen-year-old girls prepared to go off with the men. Mamae Asha sat her down and explained carefully, "Aelita… you know as well as I do that you will not survive much longer if you stay here." She tried to protest, but Mamae Asha quieted her. "I don't want you to die, sweet thing. It's always sad when a young person like you dies in a place like this. Please, child, don't fight me on this. You do not want to die."

Aelita hung her head. Her hair had started to grow back in since the last time the slavers had cut it, though her scalp was still visible in some places. Mamae Asha handed Aelita clothes, a bikini-like shirt, a long blue glove to cover her vallaslin, and a skirt that wrapped around her legs. Then she slid a gold bracelet onto her arm and wrist, tied a black choker around her neck and pulled a necklace made of red and blue beads over her head.

Mamae Asha grabbed the paint off of the desk next to the stool Aelita sat on. She spun her brush in the stuff and painted her eyes and lips. Finally she dabbed a bit of perfume under her chin and held her pupil's chin in her hand. "You look beautiful."

Mamae Asha helped Aelita up, and she turned her around so she could look at herself in the mirror. Reflected there was the image of a woman where a half-grown child had stood. Aelita suddenly began to shiver as a wave of realization hit her. She looked up at her mentor and asked with desperation in her voice, "Mamae Asha, what do I do?"

What could she say? "Just be nice to the gentlemen, 'Lita. They'll be nice to you."

 

26th of Frumentum, 5:08 Guardian

Yumi tore at her hair. "By the gods! That's horrible advice! Horrible, horrible advice!" She looked Aelita dead in the eyes and begged, "Please tell me that you didn't listen to her!"

Odd looked over to the side. "May I just say that someone should give this woman the award for 'worst motivational speaker in the history of history'?" He said.

Aelita furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you mind? I'm trying to tell a story here!"

 

12th of Umbralis, 5:05 Guardian

The Hungry Gypsy was out of the way, though it was relatively close to Cayfalls, a moderately sized town in Replika. She and Emily, the girl she'd shadowed to find Mamae Asha, had both been sent there, though in the six months Aelita had been there, she'd been lucky. She was still a virgin, and the owner of the Gypsy said that no one had, so far, put a price on her that had satisfied him. She could only pray that the streak continued. Instead, she performed, which she enjoyed because she was allowed to kick the men—and the occasional woman—who tried to touch her.

Emily, on the other hand, seemed to almost enjoy this. She pressured Aelita into doing things, though for the most part, Aelita refused. So far, she couldn't tell if Emily really enjoyed her work or if it was just the excitement that enthused her.

Aelita took comfort in the fact that she was far away from Arak-Muna, and that she was no longer in danger of starving. The food was good, and though she refused to drink it, she heard that the wine made for fancy company.

But on this night, everything changed. A nobleman from Cortex named James Finson had come to celebrate something—Aelita had heard he was in the area to make some kind of a business deal, so she assumed that it had gone well—and he had noticed her while she was dancing. The usual man who entered the Gypsy could not sate the owner's greed, but Finson was a nobleman.

Aelita had finished her routine and had returned to her room. She caught her breath and fixed her make-up and her hair. It had grown in considerably, and her scalp was fully covered. She smiled as she ran her fingers through it. It would likely never be as long as it had been but having any hair at all was better than having no hair.

Her door opened, revealing Finson to be standing on the other side. Aelita was confused at first—men usually weren't usually allowed into her chambers—and all of a sudden she realized what was going on. She stood and backed against a wall. "Please, no."

Finson closed the door behind him. He walked over to her, carrying a bottle of wine. He gave it to her, and she sighed as she took it. She uncorked the bottle and poured the wine into goblets on a shelf. He wrapped his arms around her, and she shuddered at his touch. Aelita pulled away from him, and with a forced smile, she handed him the wine goblet. Finson sat on the bed and took a long swig of his wine, and Aelita noticed the dagger on his belt. If she resisted, surely he would use it to kill her—and if he were half as rich as he claimed, he could afford it—but if she were careful…

Aelita realized that he'd asked her something, and she tried to remember what he'd said. She muttered something that sounded about right, and if it had been wrong he didn't notice. Finson kept talking about himself, and Aelita began to wonder if he ever shut his mouth.

"But enough of this. You have a job to do, don't you?" Finson said, standing and approaching her. Aelita shrank next to him, trying to avoid eye contact. She tried to escape on the side with the dagger, but he moved with her, and she reconsidered her plan. "You're a skittish one, aren't you?" Finson asked, and Aelita kept eye contact as she tried to steal the dagger from his belt. Finson caught her hands and tried to guide them himself.

Aelita tore her hands away and wiggled away from him. "Um. Yes. Yes, I'm skittish. Maybe you would be better, I don't know, going home to your wife?" She said as he followed her.

"You are a delightful change from the pale slug that I married." Finson chuckled. Aelita shook her head. He grabbed her suddenly, and she struggled against him. "Stop struggling!" She refused, and she kicked to his side, trying to knock the dagger from its holster. Finson forced her onto the bed, and despite her squirming, he began to kiss her chest.

The feeling of violation was almost enough to freeze her in place and the words of Mamae Asha somehow floated into her mind. For an agonizing minute longer she endured his lips, recalling in great detail all the times she'd been whipped, all the times she'd been tired into horribly painful positions for wanting her freedom, for talking of escape. The sensation of his hands trailing along her arm, behind her back to the strings of her too small top pulled her out of her reverie. Her mind was made up; she'd escape or die trying.

Aelita grabbed the wine bottle and struck him as hard as she could with it. It shattered, and his hand flew to his head as the bleeding started. The elf honed in on his blood and used it to cut the binds that had kept her magic from flowing for two years. She revealed in the magic that now flowed freely, enjoying the power that she could feel. Finson stood angrily, and she grabbed hold of his blood to force him back down.

She could have run. In fact, she wanted to. As she sat up to run, a familiar voice echoed inside her head. It wasn't the spirit of Hunger, no; it was Murray, though his voice hadn't changed in two years. The voice told her to kill the nobleman; it told her to kill all of them for what they'd done to her. For a moment, Aelita thought that she'd gone mad, but Erahalam pierced her chest, though she hadn't seen it since she'd hidden it inside her two years ago. A familiar gleam came from the eye sockets, and she nodded.

Aelita rolled over onto him, smiling. "I guess you don't have to worry about going home to that pale slug, huh?" She mocked him, grabbing the dagger at his side. It was of fine make—the edge of the blade was pure ebony, with swirls and designs carved into it, while the actual blade was made of mithril and very, very sharp. Aelita studied the fox carved into the walnut handle before she drove the blade into Finson's gut, squeezing the blood in his throat when he tried to scream. Aelita stabbed him repeatedly, splashing blood onto her arms, chest and face.

When she was sure he was dead, she jumped off of him, wiping her mouth with her arm, though succeeding only in smearing more blood there. Finson left a large pool of blood on her floor, and Aelita stepped into it. It was warm against her toes, and in that moment, the only thing she could do was laugh.

Aelita spun around the man who had tried to have his way with her, laughing. She was free, and he was dead. She'd won. Aelita danced in his blood; caring not that blood crawled between her toes, and stopped only when one of the bouncers forced the door open. "Witch! WITCH!!" The bouncer shouted, and Aelita raised the blood around her to form a ring. She grabbed Erahalam and pointed Murray the Skull at the bouncer. The blood lashed out like a sword, striking at the man's chest. The bouncer stumbled back and leaned against the back wall.

The elf threw the dagger at the bouncer, stabbing him in the throat. She walked over to him, turned the blade and pulled it out. Aelita held out her arms and transformed into an owl. A bouncer observed this and started shouting for his comrades to stop the owl. Aelita flew into the common area, where an off-duty magistrate sat along with the regular customers. One of the bouncers ordered him to silence the owl, and he complied. Aelita was forced back into her elven form, and she was falling towards the floor.

Fighting through the pain, she grabbed a beam near the ceiling and twisted to sit on it. Aelita jumped up and rolled to the side to avoid their arrows. She couldn't use her normal magic, so she sliced open her hand to use her blood. She grabbed hold of one of the bouncers, turning him against his comrades. She watched as they fought the enthralled bouncer, and then one of them turned against her again. Aelita sent a spear of blood towards him, but his arrow found her first. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the arrow out and began to treat the wound, using the entropic energy around her to heal.

Spotting an opportunity, Emily, who had hidden behind the bar with the other whores, grabbed a bottle of wine and broke it over the head of a bouncer who had been cruel to her more times than not. She looted his daggers from his body, dual wielding them as she fought against the bouncers. Emily smiled at Aelita, though there was a flash in her eyes. Had the other slave been putting up a façade? Aelita smiled back.

Aelita jumped down, having fought through the silencing. She used Erahalam to send a lightning bolt at the magistrate before slicing at the throat of a bouncer who charged her with the blade. Another one of the bouncers tried to sneak up on Emily, and she threw the dagger in her hands at him. Emily flinched, but then she smiled and forced her remaining dagger into the bouncer's gut. Aelita grabbed the forehead of a bouncer who rushed towards her, and then she pushed him away. He swelled up, and a look of pure terror spread across his face as he exploded, splattering the walls of the Gypsy with blood and killing two other bouncers. Aelita summoned Hunger and ordered him to tear apart her enthralled bouncer.

Finally, it was quiet. The patrons had fled, security was dead, and the owners were nowhere in sight. Emily and Aelita stood back to back, surveying the damage while waiting for more bouncers to attack them. "I appreciate your help," Aelita whispered.

"You know, I think this 'freedom' thing you keep talking about might be rubbing off on me." She laughed. Emily took Aelita's hand, and together they ran out, rushing away from the Hungry Gypsy. It resided on the other side of a rope bridge in the woods, and once they had crossed the bridge, Emily used her daggers to slice the rope. "This should hold them off. Come on, Aelita, let's bolt."

Emily grabbed Aelita's hand again, and after a bit of running, Aelita determined they were travelling north. Lyoko and Arlathan resided to the west. "Wait! Where are we going?"

"Away from the Gypsy. Where else?"

"And then where? We can't just wander, aimlessly."

"So long as we wander aimlessly away from the Gypsy, I'm happy."

Aelita looked at her toes. They were still caked in blood, though it seemed to have dried. "I'm going to try to gain entrance to Arlathan." She announced as Emily turned and walked away.

Emily stopped walking. "You'll never get in on your own. You would have to join up with a clan of wilders, and none of them frequent that part of Lyoko this time of year."

"Creator willing, the things Edna taught me will be good for something." Aelita muttered. "So I guess you aren't coming with me?"

"I'm not a wilder. I don't belong in Arlathan." Emily thought for a moment. "I think I'll head up to Cortex, at least for a while. I hear they've got the best sailors this side of Nippon." Emily smiled and turned away. "Good luck, Aelita."

Aelita smiled. "Creator watch over you, Emily."

 

26th of Frumentum, 5:08 Guardian

Aelita looked up, her story finished. The group was silent. Yumi moved over to Aelita's side and embraced her, and the Outcast smiled at her. Jeremie cleared his throat. "It's hard to believe all of those things happened to you. I mean, I can believe it. That's the worst part."

Ulrich blinked. "How do you stay so upbeat? I think you've got a reason to be bitter."

Aelita laughed, and she still giggled as she tried to calm herself down. "I could be less perky if you'd like." She began to speak monotonously. "The darkness of my past has seeped into my soul. The world is black and so is my heart. Every day I live is another day closer to my death. Oh, woe is me. Woe!"

Ulrich seemed uncomfortable. "No, that's okay."

She smiled at him. "I like perky better, too."

Odd crossed his arms. "I guess we should be on the lookout for people looking for you? We're only a few days away from Cayfalls, after all."

Laura sighed. "So now in addition to a witch we're travelling with a former prostitute and the murderer of a nobleman? Wonderful."

Aelita looked up at the night sky and then back to Laura. "Is that really all you got out of that story?"

"No, I also learned that elves give horrible advice." Laura said, and she smirked.

The Outcast shook her head. "Something tells me that you already held that opinion." She sighed again, and she looked off into the distance. "At least now I don't have to worry about you finding out from a different source. It feels good to finally talk about this to someone."

Aelita looked to the north, probably in the direction of Arlathan. She spoke about it often, but all of the Heroes wondered if she had ever made it there. Ulrich cleared his throat. "Anyway, it's getting late. I've got first watch tonight, so the rest of you should head off to bed." The Heroes stood and entered their respective tents, excluding Jeremie and Ulrich. "You going to sleep tonight, captain?" Ulrich asked, though his tone was disrespectful.

Jeremie ignored it, or more likely accepted it. "Probably not for a while; I don't really feel tired." They sat in silence. Jeremie watched the flickering orange and yellow flames of the fire and became lost in his thoughts. He couldn't, wouldn't show his emotions in front of everyone. But his clenched fists, slumping posture and unfocused eyes would tell all anyone wanted to know about his state. He was angry. At the men and woman who made their living off of such victimization. At his fiancée for her cold indifference to all she had suffered. At himself for… everything.

He glanced briefly at Aelita's tent and marveled at the strength she must have had to overcome that experience and to talk to them now. He shook his head sadly and his eyes trailed to Laura's tent. Would she have been able to survive that? Would he himself?

His eyes traced a path back to the ground between his boots. Letting out a sad sigh he glanced up to the stars that Aelita had so much faith in. For a moment he stared upwards into the void above, and then he returned his gaze to the earth. He recalled the date with Aelita and then the first time he'd seen the physical scars of her ordeal.

It wasn't very real then. Now however, try as he might, he couldn't stop the images. He imagined her being stripped and chained that first time. He could almost hear scream as the whip tore open her back, hear her shaking voice, choked with that pain calling out the number of her lashes through the sobs.

Tears slid down his eyes and his breath caught in his throat as he desperately tried not to openly cry. The movie in his head continued. Aelita screaming and crying as some inhuman overseer cracked his whip against her skin, demanding she start the counting over because she mumbled a number in her sobs. He got up, and all but ran for the cover of his tent. Sleep wasn't coming, but at least he could cry quietly and out of sight.


	24. Autumn 9

Episode 9: Both Temporary and Everlasting

27th of Frumentum

 

Jeremie stoked the fire, prodding at the dying orange flames. Ulrich was the first to join him, and the Mercenary seemed taken aback by Jeremie's ragged appearance. "Gods, Jeremie, You look like you were manhandled by a mountain troll." He teased, sitting adjacent to him.

"I didn't sleep last night. I had too many things on my mind." He explained. He sighed, dropping the iron poker in favor of twisting his wedding band. He considered removing it, but opted not to and slumped over.

"Is that why you left in a hurry last night?" Ulrich asked. Jeremie nodded, and Ulrich seemed uncomfortable for a moment. "If it makes you feel better, I don't sleep so well either. Honestly, I don't think any of us did, except maybe Odd or Laura, but they're…"

Jeremie nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I know. Though I don't really feel better." He smiled faintly. "I appreciate the thought, though."

They sat in awkward silence until Yumi joined them a few minutes later. Taking a seat near the fire, she smiled. "Good morning, boys. Nice to see you're not tearing at each other's throats."

Ulrich shrugged with a grin. "The day is still young."

Yumi chuckled. Her face grew serious. Quietly, she asked Jeremie if he had altered their course after the light provided by Aelita, offhandedly reminding him that the whole area was overrun with slavers. He simply suggested they move carefully through the area and send a scout or two ahead to watch for ambushes. Yumi's expression showed disappointment and he looked off into the distance for a moment before elaborating, "The other option takes us within a stone's throw of Arak-Muna on even ground with it so…"

Yumi let out a resigned sighed. "Well, hopefully we'll be far away from here soon."

Ulrich furrowed his brows. "Hopefully Laura won't arrest us for killing 'merchants'." He said sharply.

Jeremie shook his head. "She won't. Even she admits that no one will miss slavers."

Yumi smiled at him. "It's good to hear you say that."

Their conversation came to a stop as Laura emerged from her tent. Before even saying 'good morning,' she sighed and said, "Ulrich, stop glaring at me like that. I'm not going to force Aelita back into slavery. I don't support it." She sat down next to her fiancée.

Ulrich crossed his arms. "Talk is cheap. You haven't done anything to back up those words, but your actions have proved that you hate Aelita."

Laura sighed. "I suppose that's fair," She admitted, "but personally, I know slavery is horrible. We all know that. But I also know that I don't have the power to change it." She wore a stern expression. "One day, I will have that power, and when I do, things will change."

"I'll hold you to that, princess." He spat.

Yumi folded her hands into her lap. "What about Finson? Aren't you planning to charge her for his murder?"

Laura turned to the Colonist. "The authorities who investigated his death showed that he was selling something illegal—it was encrypted, so we don't really know if it was something as mundane as drugs or something as dangerous as espionage—but if she were to face trial, it is likely that my father would acquit her. Especially since her trial wouldn't come to pass until after the war is over, and then she'd be a war hero."

Yumi tilted her head. "But she murdered him. Your father would overlook it?"

"Finson was a constant thorn in his side. I remember him telling me that he'd give a medal to the elf that killed him." She half-sighed and half-laughed. "I guess now he has to follow through." Quietly, she added, "The magistrates, on the other hand, may feel differently."

Before a response could be offered, Jeremie whispered for them to be quiet. Aelita crawled out of her tent. "Good morning, everyone." She said cheerfully, just as she had every day. The group, excluding Laura, returned her greeting loudly in unison. They failed miserably at acting normal, and Aelita picked up on it immediately. She was visibly uncomfortable, though she said nothing and sat next to the fire anyway.

"How did you sleep, Kitten?" Ulrich asked.

"Fine. Like a rock, actually." Aelita said.

"Really? Even after last night?" Jeremie asked.

"I may have slept easier because of it." The Outcast smiled. "I've never spoken about that to anyone. It feels good to have it off my chest."

"It happened three years ago. Why worry about it now?" Odd said, startling the others who hadn't been paying attention. He joined them around the fire.

Yumi furrowed her brows. "I don't know, maybe to prove that you have a conscience?"

"I'm only worried about the slavers, or more specifically, I'm worried that our group isn't large enough to frighten them off." He clarified. "I feel bad about what happened to you, Aelita, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't do any good to worry about it now. It happened in the past; we couldn't change it even if we wanted to."

Aelita shrugged. "I guess that's one way to put it."

Jeremie looked up at Odd, who simply shrugged. Something flashed across the Wise Man's face, but whatever it was, he didn't pursue it. Instead, he poured out the fire. "We should get moving. If the slavers were able to set up an ambush for us, they likely have been following us and know our location. I don't think we should provoke them any more than we have to." The Heroes stood and began packing up camp, though Jeremie grabbed Laura's wrists and pulled her aside. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course, love. What is it?" Laura asked.

"Can your healing magic get rid of scars?" He asked quietly so as not to involve the others.

Laura narrowed her eyes. "You're asking for Aelita, aren't you?" She demanded. "Did she put you up to this? Are you under her influence?"

Jeremie shook his head. "No. Nothing like that. She hasn't even spoken about her scars, except a little last night. I was just hoping…"

"Hoping that you could put yourself back in her good graces by convincing me to close up old wounds?" She asked, sounding offended.

"No! Why are you so suspicious?" Jeremie asked. He held up his hand to stop her as she opened her mouth. "Don't answer that."

"If I'm being suspicious and that's not the reason, why do you want me to help her?" Laura's voice dripped with venom.

Jeremie stumbled over his words. "I just… want to take some of the pain away."

Laura raised her eyebrows, almost as if she had been hurt. "Do you still care about her?" She asked almost too quietly to be heard.

"Can your magic make scars vanish?" Jeremie asked. Either he hadn't heard her or he was ignoring her question.

Laura looked away for a moment, though eventually she turned back to him with arms folded. "If you can convince Aelita that I have no intention to hurt her, then yes, I can make the scars vanish. I don't know if she'll trust me, though. She never has before." She walked away heavy footed as if angry, but on her face was an expression of sadness.

Jeremie watched her leave for a moment, and then sighed. Yumi called for him to help her, and he obliged.

 

Later that evening the Heroes had camped inside of a cave, hopefully out of sight of the slavers that frequented the area. Odd and Ulrich had surveyed the caves thoroughly when Jeremie mentioned that sometimes slavers used the caves near their bases as hideouts when rival slavers or dissidents tried to raid them. They'd come back with nothing, and they were all able to relax.

After an awkward fifteen minutes of silence, Jeremie finally asked to speak to Aelita outside. She glanced over at Ulrich and Yumi, and while Ulrich simply shrugged, Yumi nodded. Aelita agreed, and they both walked out of the cave. "Did you need something, Jeremie?" She asked, folding her arms behind her back. There was something sad lying behind his eyes, and she wondered if he could feel the weight on her heart.

"Sort of. I…" His voice trailed off for a moment. "How are you feeling?" He asked suddenly, as if it had been a whim.

"Uh… how am I feeling?" Aelita repeated. "I suppose that I'm… managing. And how are you feeling?" She almost seemed amused, but confusion was written obviously on her face.

"I can't say that I feel any better." He admitted softly. There was a silence for a few moments, the only sounds coming from inside the cave. Odd must've told a joke; the others were laughing. Aelita moved as if to excuse herself, but Jeremie caught her. "I'm sorry. This isn't why I brought you out here."

She stopped moving, and looked at his hands. The Outcast unfurled his fingers from her wrist, and for a moment she considered weaving her own fingers through his. Instead, she dropped his hand and pulled back her own. "Yes, Jeremie?"

"I wanted to ask you about your scars." He said, a little less tactfully then he would've liked.

"What about them? They're scars; I don't understand your confusion." She laughed, though her heart wasn't in it.

"I… convinced Laura to heal them for you, if you want." There was no response. "Is that what you want?"

Aelita furrowed her brows and folded her arms. "Laura doesn't like me. Why would she agree to help me?"

Jeremie got defensive. "I asked her to. She listens to me, at least some of the time."

"So what? I can't think of any reason for Laura to want to decrease my suffering, especially if that suffering reminds me that I'm a dirty knife ear and I'll always be a slave!"

"Laura does not support slavery!"

"She may not support slavery, but she doesn't support freedom either!"

There was a long silence as the two stared at one another. Jeremie searched her eyes and asked, "This isn't about your scars, is it?"

Aelita shook her head, but her expression softened. "No, I guess it isn't." She leaned against the mountainside and looked up at the sky. Many of the stars were obscured by dark clouds that looked like they might bear rain, but the air did not confirm that. They were in the middle of a drought, after all. "The only question is this; is this about the blood magic or your impending wedding?"

"You should've known better than to turn to blood magic." Jeremie said firmly.

Aelita shot up from her semi-relaxed position and loudly said, "And you should've known better than to accept Laura's proposal!"

"It's none of your business who I marry! But so long as you're travelling with us, we have a right to know if you're dealing in witchcraft!" Jeremie pointed at her accusingly. "I stood up for you! Now if the magistrates find out, they'll think I was your accomplice! They'll think we were all your accomplices!"

"I didn't ask for your protection! I didn't ask for it and I don't need it! I've gone years between people finding out, and I never stay in one place for too long!"

Jeremie started arguing, but he threw up his hands. "I didn't come out here to argue!" He said, pacing.

Aelita folded her arms again as she averted her eyes. "Then why did you ask me out here, Jeremie?"

"I was trying to help you!"

"So you say, but that's not really it!" She walked further away from the mouth of the cave and spoke quietly. "You aren't happy, are you? Not with Laura or with anything that's happened since… you and I were ambushed."

"No, how could I be happy? You betrayed my trust and Yumi nearly died because you used blood magic to kill bandits!" Jeremie persisted.

"That's not it, Jeremie! If those were the reasons that you were angry or upset, you never would have let me accompany you this far!" Aelita protested. "At best, you would have taken me to Falcon's Bridge and chased me away as soon as I could stand on my own! But you didn't do that."

"What about you? If you were upset because I don't trust blood magic, you could've left weeks ago! You could have left the moment you found out about my view of blood magic in the aravel after we rescued Dhaune!"

"Jeremie, you know that's not why I'm unhappy." Aelita said, her voice pleading. "We keep dancing around this elephant in the room, hoping that it'll just vanish, like I had hoped the truth would. You keep hoping that one day you'll wake up and love Laura, and we both keep waking up and hoping that we've moved on but it isn't going to happen."

"Who are you to tell me what I will feel?" Jeremie demanded. Softer, he added, "Aelita, I—I'm sorry. There's so much going on; the war, these rivalries, treason, magic, travelling and everyone expects me to know what to do and… I'm just… really confused about everything right now. I—" She interrupted him, grabbing his face and pulling him into a kiss. It was awkward at first, but he fell into it as easily as she did. Aelita moved her hands to his neck, and he placed his hands around the small of her back. They stayed that way for several seconds before Jeremie woke from his daydream and pushed her away. She seemed awfully confused. "We cannot do this. I'm getting married."

"Laura doesn't love you. She may say that she does, but she doesn't. I love you, ma vhenan." Aelita pleaded, trying to grab his hands.

"At least Laura never lied to me! I can count on that she at least tries to do right, even if she falters!" Jeremie defended as he pulled his hands away.

"And I don't?" She questioned. "She wants to use you. That's all shemlen ever do!"

Jeremie furrowed his brows. "I'm shemlen too, Aelita!" He shouted.

She seemed flustered. "You know that isn't what I meant!"

"I understood what you meant loud and clear." He spat.

Aelita hung her head in shame, but it was momentary. She snapped her head back up and spat, "Tell your Imperialist wife that she can keep her magic! I'd rather have my scars than let her touch me." She folded her arms and turned her back to him. Jeremie threw his arms over his head, groaning loudly. He stormed back into the cave, and Aelita watched him leave over her shoulder. She shook her head and remained outside in the darkness for a long time until she heard snaps in the distance. Fearing slavers, she reentered the cavern, pretending not to notice Jeremie's blue eyes focused on her.


	25. Autumn 10

Episode 10: Eye of the Storm

5th of Umbralis

 

Now outside of slaver territory, the group should've been able to relax, but the atmosphere was still tense. Aelita walked next to Ulrich, trying not to look at Jeremie, while the Wise Man walked hand in hand with Laura who seemed to be talking about nothing in particular. Although, most of her talking seemed to be directed towards her being nervous about their current location. They were travelling very, very close to the border between Lyoko and Replika. Yumi and Odd trailed behind, the Colonist rubbing her forehead, clearly frustrated.

The border city was called Vaulxerr, home mostly to humans and dwarves who quarried granite for building and oricalcum for smithing, as it was one of the strongest metals, though very rare. Laura claimed that rather than a mayor like most cities they visited, a nobleman named Hans Klotz presided over Vaulxerr, though it was very clear as they approached that leadership had changed.

Xana had sent soldiers there; likely for the oricalcum. They now patrolled the city streets, and many citizens were fearful in their presence. Many of the city guardsmen had been strung up in the town square, though rumor stated that some had taken refuge in a nearby canyon. Laura sighed. "This really shouldn't surprise me. Compte Klotz was always sort of nervous. He likely surrendered as soon as the drow invaded."

Jeremie seemed unimpressed. "We should resupply as quietly as possible and set out as soon as we can."

The others agreed and split into pairs as they navigated around, cautiously avoiding patrols. Luckily, Xana must not have anticipated the Heroes entering Vaulxerr, and they were able to restock with little trouble. Yumi had entered the Warrior's Alehouse, named after the title of the ancient prophet as it was believed that he was born there, to gather rumors to keep Xana off of the party's trail. Instead, she heard something better—a chance to save her brother.

Apparently, Compte Klotz had been asked to host a party, which Yumi found rather strange until the innkeeper explained that Xana was trying to recruit nobility to her cause, likely to pay for the war. The innkeeper claimed that many rich and influential people were in attendance, including Xana herself and that a large number of her slaves were to be serving in place of Klotz's servants. If she were lucky and very careful, she might be able to sneak inside and rescue her brother from Dhaune's clutches.

The only problem was dealing with Jeremie. When Yumi approached him with this news, he only asked if she were insane. "You don't know if your brother will be with them, and yet you want to waltz right into Compte Klotz's manor and start looking?" He demanded.

Odd was unimpressed as well. "Not to mention you have no real plan on getting inside. That place will be locked up tighter than a miser's purse."

Yumi seemed desperate. "I know that it's a long shot, but if there's even a chance that Hiroki is with them or nearby…" She pressed her palms together. "Please Jeremie! What would you do if this were your father? I may not get a second chance to save him! Please!"

For a moment there was silence as Jeremie searched her eyes. Then, he sighed. "This had better be worth it, Yumi. If you don't find your brother you had better make it out with something, or so help me…"

"Yes!" She cheered as she hugged the Wise Man. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet. How do plan on getting in, and you can't go alone." He clarified. "What are your plans?"

"I hadn't really thought about that yet." Yumi admitted. "Though I'm sure that there are sewers or secret passages that lead inside."

Odd folded his arms. "It may be easier to pose as a guest and go in through the front gate if you're looking for someone." He grinned. "And you won't come out smelling like the back end of a troll!"

"There's no way that she could get past the front gate without an invitation!" Laura protested. "Klotz loves to throw parties—I've been to a few—but he takes security really seriously. He'll send six men to take care of a rat in the larder."

Odd grinned. "Leave that to me." He looked at Yumi. "What do you think of the name 'Mayuki Fujiwara'? And guest, of course." He asked.

Yumi considered it. "I guess it's sort of pretty."

Ulrich folded his arms. "You're serious, aren't you?" He asked incredulously. "You're mad! If they find out, they'll kill you!"

"I've got to do this, Ulrich." Yumi said sternly. "If I don't I may never get the chance again."

Jeremie leaned against the aravel. "Nevertheless, have you considered who you want as backup? I won't let you go alone." She shook her head and Jeremie looked at Aelita. "You could go disguised as her handmaiden. You worked for Sissi Delmas, didn't you?"

Aelita's face turned pink. "Yes, but I—I was trained as an escort not a handmaiden. And I never formally accompanied Sissi to any parties, especially not fancy ones!" She seemed to panic as she shook her head. "I'd only mess it up! What if I use the wrong fork? And then accidentally stab someone with it? That sounds exactly like something that would happen to me!"

Ulrich laughed. "Just act offended that they bled on your dress! No one will even notice." Aelita smiled briefly, but it vanished and she shook her head 'no'.

Jeremie sighed. "I can't go with you. I don't know much about nobles and I'm not really good at pretending either."

The Mercenary shook his head with a chuckle. "What is there to know? They like to get drunk and talk smack about one another. Other than that, they're rich and they like to talk about it."

Laura started to brush her hair. "I don't think I should go either. Compte Klotz would recognize me." She looked at Odd. "What about you?"

Yumi drew the line there. "Oh no. The last time Odd escorted me to a fancy party he got severely drunk and started dancing on tables. I found him two hours later locked in the library with a bottle of 4:16 East brandy and some vulgar novel about a man dressed as a cat!"

Odd laughed. "I have no memory of that! I remember the novel though. He was a purple cat."

"I'm surprised." Jeremie said flatly. "Why am I surprised? I shouldn't be surprised!"

"Forgive me if I don't understand the erotic appeal of a man dressed as a purple cat," Aelita said with a raised eyebrow.

Laura seemed disgusted for a moment, but then she turned to Ulrich. "I guess it'll have to be you then, Ulrich."

Ulrich recoiled. "What?! I hate the nobility of Lyoko," Ulrich protested. "They're petty and rude! And everyone thinks that they're better than you because their great-grandfather bought out a tea company or something!"

Laura laughed honestly. "True as that may be, you know about them. You could interact with them. Interaction will make you seem less suspicious."

Ulrich narrowed his eyes at her, but Yumi grabbed his shoulder. "Please, Ulrich." She begged with her eyes.

He sighed. "Fine, I'll go." He pointed at Jeremie. "But I want you outside in case something goes wrong."

Jeremie nodded. Odd ran into town while Ulrich used paint and Laura's illusion magic to mask his appearance. Aelita stood and offered to help Yumi with her disguise. Yumi still had her formalwear from the night of the strike on Capital Lyoko, which she asked Laura to modify with spells so it didn't look suspiciously similar. Aelita grabbed some spare fabric and decorated Yumi's fans, using the fabric to cover the iron ribs. Finally she helped Yumi fix her hair—Yumi had short hair and there was too little time to properly prepare so her hairstyle was relatively simple—and painted her face. Yumi barely recognized herself, and Aelita mentioned off-handedly that the things she'd learned in Arak-Muna had finally come in handy.

Yumi prepared for a fight, hiding kunai and smaller weapons in her obi. She tied her mask around her waist, before joining Ulrich outside of the aravel. Laura had woven an illusion into his formalwear, and he was almost unrecognizable. The Fair did the same to Yumi's obi, though the change was not nearly as dramatic. Jeremie and Aelita unhitched Rorkal from the aravel, and Yumi climbed onto the saddle as Odd ran back from the city. "Here. Remember, you're Mayuki Fujiwara and Chikao Sato. You're nobles visiting from Nippon, and you were invited in hopes of convincing the Emperor to pledge naval support."

Laura grabbed the invitation before Ulrich could. "This… looks official. How did you get this?"

Odd snatched it back before handing it to Ulrich. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

Laura pouted, seemingly put out. "You can't say something like that! Now I want to know even more."

Ulrich grabbed the reigns of Rorkal's bridle and listened carefully as Laura gave him directions for getting up to the manor. He looked up at Yumi nervously, and she simply smiled at him.

 

It took about an hour to reach the manor, as it was built into the side of the mountain. When they arrived, servants—or more likely slaves—helped Yumi off of her horse. She scanned their faces but none seemed familiar. Ulrich courteously motioned to the gate where a brutish man stood guard. The Mercenary handed him the invitation, and he read it quickly before smiling and opening the gate.

Inside were about two dozen guests in extravagant clothes. Many slaves stood with platters, and at every door stood a stern-looking guard. Yumi snapped her wrist to open her fan, and she held it gracefully in front of her face. "Do you see Hiroki?" Ulrich asked quietly.

"Not yet. Keep your eyes open, though." Yumi said.

As was custom, they followed the line of guests and greeted the host. Compte Klotz smiled as they approached, and both kissed his hand when he offered it to him. "Welcome to my home. I don't believe we've met. I am Compte Hans Klotz; and you are…?"

"I am Chikao Sato, and this is Mayuki Fujiwara. We're here representing Nippon." Ulrich motioned to himself and Yumi, who smiled and nodded.

"Some of Xana's guests, then." The Compte said, his voice trailing off. He smiled and shook his head as he stroked his beard. "Regardless, please, enjoy yourselves. We'll speak more later."

The two teenagers walked off, Yumi pressing her hand to her chest with a sigh. They looked around, but Hiroki was nowhere to be seen. "I guess we should mingle; maybe if we're careful we can ask if someone has seen him." Yumi suggested.

Ulrich nodded, and they approached the nearest person to them. When he turned, they realized he was an elf, though unlike most elves he had let his beard grow out. His hair at one point may have been brown, but he was older and it had begun to grey. He wore spectacles on his nose that hid his green eyes, and his finery was red and white. "Welcome to the party. You look new here, so a word of advice? If you speak to Xavier Gosselin, avoid talking about the military. Or… smallclothes." His voice was deep and almost fatherly.

Yumi laughed behind her fan. "Thank you for the advice."

The elf smiled. "No problem." He raised an eyebrow at them. "My name is Franz Hopper." They introduced themselves with their false names, and Ulrich asked as politely as he could what an elf was doing at a formal party. Either he was a wilder as his vallaslin suggested, or he was a city elf, and many laws prevented them from rising to fortune. "I'm… a merchant, of a sorts, though I'm more of a purveyor of goods both common and rare. I have high-paying clients and connections." He explained calmly, though Yumi noted that he tucked a golden amulet into his clothes after spotting the mask at her side.

"Is the Compte one of your clients?" Yumi asked.

"The Compte and I have been friends for many years before I made my small fortune." He said. "Have you known him for long?"

"No, not long really." Ulrich shook his head.

"One of Xana's guests, then?" He asked, disappointed.

Yumi narrowed her eyes. "I suppose you could say that."

"Be careful around her. The stories of the elvhen say that she will raze the entire world if she gets the chance." Franz said warningly before he sighed, "Why do villains always want to destroy the world? Where do they think they'll live?"

Yumi laughed again, but her face grew serious as she asked, "Have you seen a Nihonjin boy around? He goes by the name Hiroki Ishiyama. He's one of… one of the slaves." Her voice grew weaker as she spoke, as if it hurt to admit it.

Franz shook his head. "I was born in Bastium, so I spent a lot of my life as a slave. As such, I try not to think about it too much. Under normal circumstances I would be fighting to free them but that is unwise in this scenario. Xana has guards crawling all over the place." With a sigh, he smiled weakly and waved them off. "What I mean to say is, no, I haven't seen him. Try talking to the Overseer. She's around somewhere."

Franz smiled and returned to socializing. Yumi looked to Ulrich, who merely shrugged. They scanned the faces of the dark elves who conversed with nobles, and they both jumped as someone spoke behind them. "What do you think you're doing here?" They turned to find Dhaune standing behind them, her hair braided and pulled out of her face. She'd powdered her face to make it look darker, the exact opposite of Yumi's makeup, though her splotches were still visible underneath. "Where are the others? Are you planning on ambushing us?"

Ulrich motioned as if he were going to say something, but Yumi grabbed a kunai from her obi and held it at Dhaune's throat. "How dare you speak to us after everything you did?" Startled, Ulrich moved quickly but purposely so that his body blocked the guards from seeing what was really happening. He quickly scanned the area and discreetly turned to better face Dhaune. The Mercenary furrowed his brows. "How did you even recognize us? We're under Laura's illusion spells!" He hissed quietly.

"Would you believe me if I said… no, that joke would be ill-timed. I've trained myself to recognize illusions. The two of you are twinkling like a diamond-studded rainbow." She looked Yumi dead in the eyes. "I dare you to kill me. I deserve it, I know. But while you're reveling in my death, do me a favor and consider how you'll escape this place after murdering a general." Yumi struggled with this for a moment, but she lowered her hand. "That's a good girl."

"Where is Xana? Shouldn't you be licking her boots?" Ulrich demanded.

Dhaune laughed bitterly. "I honestly haven't got a clue." She said. "She took an elite group of guards with her when we parted ways, though. She might have gone back to the city."

"What about Hiroki?" Yumi demanded.

A light clicked on inside of Dhaune's mind. "Of course! You heard the rumor in town, then?" She asked. "He isn't here. If I had brought him above ground he would've tried to run." Yumi sighed sadly, and Dhaune offered, "He is safe though. I have personally seen to that."

Yumi looked to the side and spit on the ground. "He isn't safe. He's your slave."

Dhaune shook her head, noticing that they were starting to draw attention. "I should get back to the party before I'm missed, and you should leave before I dispel your illusion and order the guards to attack." Dhaune walked away from the two teenagers, and while Ulrich glared at her as she left, Yumi stared at the ground and shivered in anger. She spun around and threw the kunai she held at the dark elf general, who sensed it and stopped it with a burst of dark energy. The guests gasped and stopped socializing, the guards drew their weapons and Dhaune pointed at them. "Take them alive! Xana will want to personally see them hanged!"

Ulrich cursed under his breath. "You had to attack, didn't you?" He asked. He drew his sword. "Go get the others! I'll hold them off!"

Yumi was about to disagree, but Ulrich grinned at her. She moved to place her mask on her face, but Franz distracted her. "Miss Mayuki, drop that mask!" He shouted. She froze, almost getting herself tackled by a dwarven guard. She kicked him in the teeth before ignoring Franz's advice and tying the mask behind her head, disappearing into thin air.

Ulrich watched her vanish, and he started engaging in combat with the guards. He sliced at the first's chest, kicking him into another guard and ultimately into a nearby table. He stabbed a plain-clothes guard, pulling the katanna out to slice at his throat. One guard snuck up on him, and he spun around in time to watch the guard get forced a meter back by a crossbow bolt.

The Mercenary turned and saw Franz Hopper holding a crossbow that he'd taken from a guard he had knocked out. He loaded the crossbow again as Ulrich fought off the guards, though ultimately both Ulrich and Franz were surrounded. Dhaune ordered the guards to take them to the dungeons.

 

Ulrich was leaning against the wall of the stone dungeon, striped of his katanna and his pride. Franz paced back and forth. "You and Mayuki sure know how to make a party more interesting, don't you?" He asked.

"Those aren't our real names. My name is Ulrich Stern, and Mayuki is Yumi Ishiyama." Ulrich confessed.

"Figures. Still, you aren't half the liar as some of those nobles." Franz joked.

Ulrich shifted. "So where did you learn how to use a crossbow? I don't think that's a skill they teach merchants, regardless of the goods that they purvey."

"I learned quite a bit about archery during my time with the wilders. They're good people. I was even married to one before… the incident." His voice trailed off. He shook his head before looking to Ulrich. "So, we need to get out of here before Xana comes and decides that we'll taste good in the soup, or whatever she has planned. Any ideas?"

"I didn't come here alone." Ulrich smiled.

 

It had taken a while, but the other Heroes had navigated their way into the dungeon through the sewers, much to the protests of Odd and Laura. Now, they wandered around the dungeons, hopelessly lost. Even when Jeremie tried to contact Ulrich, he received no insight on his precise location or how to get there.

After about half an hour, Aelita stopped running. The others stopped as she said, "Um, Jeremie? I think we've passed that same cracked cornice five times now."

Odd cursed, "Juno's granny panties! I knew things were going too smoothly!"

Laura furrowed her brows. "We've been going in circles and you just thought to say something now?"

Aelita got defensive. "I wasn't sure. Every part of this dungeon looks exactly the same!"

Yumi tore at her hair. "Ugh! What do we do now?"

Jeremie tried his best to calm the others down. "Alright, nobody panic. We'll just… stay here until I think of something."

Aelita smiled. "That shouldn't take long! You're always thinking of things!"

 

Franz stood up suddenly. "That's it! I'm officially tired of waiting to be rescued!" He walked over to the iron bars and shoved something into the lock. He rushed away with his back facing the door. "Cover your ears!" He ordered, and Ulrich copied his position.

The lock on the door exploded, creating a loud explosion and clanking. Franz stood and gently pushed the door open. Ulrich shot up angrily. "Wait a second. Why didn't you do that earlier?!"

Franz turned to face him. "You said that your friends were coming," He teased gently. Ulrich seemed put out, but he followed Franz out into the corridor. The elf pointed down the hall, and they started running down it. They nearly ran over the other Heroes.

Yumi and Aelita embraced Ulrich. "Oh, Ulrich! You're safe! Praise the Creator!" Aelita called out.

"Of course I am, Kitten. With the help of Franz Hopper, of course." Ulrich said, motioning to the elf next to him. Franz smiled at the teenagers, examining each of their faces. His eyes lingered a second too long on Aelita, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

Yumi smiled up at Franz. "I'd thank the gods, but I'll settle for thanking you."

"My pleasure." He nodded. He pointed down the hall. "Your escape is likely that way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." He walked away, his eyes lingering on Aelita and the mask Yumi had tied around her neck.

As the elf walked away, Jeremie looked at Yumi. "No more spying. At all. Period."


	26. Autumn 11

Episode 11: Swan Song

25th of Umbralis

 

Jeremie walked with his eyes glued to the map, examining the path before them. He declared they had to cross Vulcan's Bridge, which was a very long bridge of dwarven make that was built to keep travelers from entering the Ravenbow Canyon. Humans claimed that it had always been there, and many people had lost their lives trying to cross its sands. Aelita claimed to have heard a different story—that the desert had once been the site of a large elvhen city, which translated into the common as Ravenbow, thus giving the canyon its name. When the humans invaded, an elvhen magician summoned a powerful demon that even the elves admitted was wholly evil—here Laura said that if the elves considered it evil, it was likely an Archdemon, an abnormally powerful demon that could control the Beyond—and it possessed him. Black fire rained from the sky for weeks before the possessed magician destroyed the entire city and the surrounding area. The only thing that had remained was an Eluvian, the glass hexed as black as the demon that had touched it.

Aelita said that though the land was still cursed, it favored the elves and rarely killed the wilders that passed through its sands, though she admitted reluctantly that it had been in the Ravenbow Canyon that Edna had lost her first apprentice.

Although Aelita insisted that the sands of the canyon would not take their lives so long as she was with them, Laura mentioned that when she walked towards the sands, she could feel murderous intent. Jeremie glanced between Laura and Aelita then took the neutral answer that sided with Laura, stating that it was faster to take the bridge—the bridge would get them into Replika and en route to Cortex in two days, whereas the canyon would take at minimum eleven days.

But when the Heroes reached the bridge, they learned that everyone from families to caravans were being denied access to the bridge. A Ranger—an abnormally tall elf with feral-looking vallaslin—stood intimidatingly before the bridge. The Heroes approached him. "We need to cross Vulcan's Bridge." Jeremie said firmly.

The Ranger did not back down. "That's too bad. No one is allowed to cross the bridge at this time." His voice was scratchy, almost like he had been shouting for a long time.

"That cannot be! The King demanded this bridge never be blockaded, especially in a time of crisis!" Laura defied him.

The Ranger glared at the Fair, and he asked, "You and your motley crew are looking for a quick way out of Lyoko, right?" He asked. "You and every other refugee in this dump. The answer is always the same—no! Wait here and we'll inform you when the bridge is open again, or leave and find another way around. But no one crosses Vulcan's Bridge until I say so."

"But I have family on the other side!" Ulrich lied. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

"I've heard claims like that a thousand times already. You're too late." The Ranger refused to hear another word, and he waved them away.

Laura seemed stressed as she said, "Now what do we do?"

Aelita folded her arms. "I don't see any way around it. We must travel through the Ravenbow Canyon."

Laura shook her head. "Whenever I go near that place, this dark feeling spreads down my back! If we travel through the canyon, only misery will befall us!"

Ulrich shook his head. "What do you foresee befalling us if we hang out here until the bridge is open again?" When Laura hesitated to respond he finished with "That's what I thought."

Jeremie crossed his arms. "I guess we have to go through the canyon. Hopefully it's just the Veil being thin that's making you nervous."

 

About a kilometer south was the path that lead down into Ravenbow Canyon. It was a zig-zag trail consisting of long runs of shallow sloped straight-aways with hairpin turns at each end. Looking down into the canyon from the top, Aelita remarked that it seemed like a staircase meant for giants. The straight sections looked wide and shallow enough for the Heroes to walk down comfortably, though the turns looked much less inviting. Jeremie waved the group onwards and took up his position beside Laura. "The Veil is thin in some places but inconsistently. It's like being around a fire but not in one." Laura said, though the further into the canyon they moved the colder it seemed to become.

Rorkal didn't seem to enjoy walking down the craggy slope though, and Aelita walked next to him with her hand rubbing his neck. There came a clanking sort of sound from behind them, and when the Heroes turned, they saw three of Xana's roach constructs. "Looks like Xana expected people to try to go the long way." Yumi said and she spun her bo staff. Ulrich drew his katanna and Odd prepared his bow, then the three seasoned fighters attacked simultaneously, easily killing the constructs.

"We should be careful from here on out. That was too easy." Jeremie said. The others nodded, and they proceeded carefully down the slope. Rorkal seemed the most on edge, even with Aelita trying her best to keep the animal calm. When the clanking sounds started again, he reared back and charged off, startling Aelita back several steps.

Three block-shaped constructs appeared, climbing over the side of the slope. They seemed to target Yumi, though she spun her staff rapidly enough to stop their lasers. Ulrich jumped quickly onto one of the blocks, stabbing it in the symbol on one of its faces. The other two blocks took this as a sign to target other party members, namely Odd and Aelita. Odd climbed to the top of a rock a head taller than himself to get a better vantage point, whereas Aelita constructed herself one to serve as a shield while she began to cast a complex ice spell. Before she could finish, the block had destroyed her shield with assistance from four hornet-like constructs swooping down from the sky.

Aelita announced their presence, and the others looked. Odd cursed and said, "Dammit. Swooping is bad." Before Aelita could respond the block that had destroyed her barrier had frozen her feet to the ground. She tried to melt it with blood and lightning but it appeared that the ice was magic-resistance—even a rock couldn't break it.

Yumi ran towards Aelita to offer her assistance in breaking the ice, but the blocks and the hornets targeted her again. Their lasers struck her four times, and she fell to the ground. "YUMI!" Ulrich shouted, and Laura ran to her side, trying to heal the hot burns and bleeding wounds.

Aelita watched the scene unfold from her horribly exposed and fixed position with a grim smile. She might be immobilized but she was still a threat and the constructs had forgotten about her. So while Jeremie concentrated on hiding behind Barricade and pushing into the blocks fire, she quietly summoned a spear of ice and launched into the nearest block. Jeremie advanced close enough to the other block and lunged out from behind the shield to kill it just before it could fire on the frozen-in-place Outcast.

At the same time, Odd focused his effort on the hornets. They dodged every arrow, causing him to utter a different swear after each shot. Suddenly choosing to ignore Odd, the squadron of hornets targeted Jeremie as a crab climbed up the side of the cliff—though this crab construct seemed to be different in the fact that it was armored, its joints now protected and the only weakness was its exposed symbol. Ulrich heard its heavy footsteps and finally turned away from focusing on Laura as she tended to Yumi in the field. He charged recklessly, his anger at Yumi's injury combining with that over his inability to take revenge on the blocks that had inflicted her wounds overcoming any sort of battle plan. The crab swatted Ulrich into the cliff, and while he was still conscious he was obviously pained.

Aelita focused on the earth and tried to knock it off the cliff as it stalked closer to the Wise Man, but it maneuvered like a master and pushed him closer to the edge. Jeremie blocked its first few lasers with his shield, but the hornets struck his hand and sent it falling towards the sand below. He shouted for Laura to set fire to the hornets, and she created a fireball that seared two of them. The Wise Man tried to use the opportunity to run under the crab but it kicked, forcing him back towards the edge.

The armored crab struck Jeremie's shoulder with a laser, and now he was but a hair's width from falling. Ulrich stood and charged, climbing up its leg and stabbing the symbol on the crab's exoskeleton. Jeremie clutched at the burning hole in his shoulder as he dodged more lasers while also trying to avoid falling over the edge. Ulrich jumped off the machine as it staggered drunkenly and reached under the armored crab to grab Jeremie's hand. One of the monster's legs went over the edge and it began to drag the whole construct down. Laura and Aelita screamed Jeremie's name as it looked like he was about to fall, and the Fair—being the only one of the girls who was mobile—rushed towards the Mercenary.

The weight of the crab forced Jeremie back, and he screamed as he fell over the edge. The terrified screams turned into pained shrieks, and Ulrich and Laura rushed over to the side to see that Jeremie had frozen in midair. The Mercenary and the Fair looked over to Yumi, hoping she had regained consciousness and saved him with her telekinesis, but she was still unconscious. Aelita held her hand out, apparently having grabbed hold of his blood.

The Outcast yanked her hand back, pulling Jeremie up and setting him down a safe distance from the edge. Laura dropped down beside him and tried to ease the lingering pain from the blood magic. Odd and Aelita killed the last two hornets, after which Ulrich helped Aelita break the ice holding her to the ground. Ulrich lifted Yumi off of the ground, but Laura stood and stormed over to Aelita. "You used blood magic on Jeremie! Have you gone mad? You could've killed him!" The Fair shouted.

"He would've died if I had done nothing!" Aelita protested.

"Do you think him stupid enough not to grab onto to something?" Laura pushed her. "How dare you touch him with your witchcraft?!"

"Enough!" Jeremie shouted, his limbs twitching ever so slightly as he stood with Odd's help. "We will discuss this tonight." He looked between the girls angrily, but he looked softly at Laura and asked, "Will you tend to Yumi? She's going to need all the help we can offer."

Laura looked at Aelita angrily, but she looked at Jeremie kindly and nodded. "Of course, love." Laura walked over to Ulrich to resumed healing Yumi's wounds. The Heroes began to walk down the slope. Aelita looked nervously to Jeremie's face, which seemed upset and yet far away.

 

The teenagers had finally caught up with Rorkal, and while Aelita had calmed him down, Ulrich and Laura had carried Yumi into the aravel, giving the Fair time to bandage the wounds her magic couldn't rapidly heal.

Nighttime had fallen now, and the air had chilled considerably since the sun had set. The Heroes started dinner, and gathering his nerves, Odd asked, "Will Yumi be alright? She took a lot of damage in that fight."

Laura shot a glare at Aelita. "She'll be fine as long as Aelita doesn't touch her."

"May the Destruction Mother take you herself, you worthless piece of shem-meat." Aelita said flatly. Laura stuck her tongue out at her, and Aelita returned the gesture.

"Ladies, you're being petty." Jeremie warned. He folded his arms. "But we do need to discuss what happened today."

Aelita narrowed her eyes. "You're alive and so are we. I don't understand what we need to discuss."

Jeremie furrowed his brows and stood. "I'm not entirely convinced you understand what you've gotten yourself into."

Ulrich shot up. "You ungrateful little shit! Aelita saved your life, and you repay her by antagonizing her over her choice of magic?" He demanded.

"Blood magic is evil, Ulrich! Nothing good ever has or ever will come out of it!" Laura said, "The only things that come out of blood magic are pain and suffering and demons!"

Aelita shook her head. "It is only if the magician wielding it is incompetent! I know the risks! It's worth it!"

"It's worth it, Aelita?" Jeremie questioned. "It's worth your life? It's worth all of our lives?"

She stormed over to him. "It's my soul on the line! No one else's! I didn't ask to involve you!"

Jeremie mimicked her pose. "I cannot allow you to keep hurting yourself and others in this way!"

"By the Creation Father, you're not my fucking mother!" Aelita shouted.

"Maybe if your savage parents hadn't abandoned you, you would've known not to accept the proposal of a demon!" Laura argued hatefully.

"Demons are just spirits, like honor or joy! It's not their fault they are what they are!" Aelita protested.

"Yes, ignore the mountain troll! It's not his fault he's going to eat you!" Laura shouted.

Ulrich glared at her. "Shut up, you tart!"

Laura shot up. "What did you call me?"

"A tart! You're a tart, milady griffon lips!" Ulrich insulted, and by the expression on Laura's face, she was a moment away from incinerating him.

They shouted over one another for a while, before both sides realized they were evenly matched and realized there was only one way to finally settle this grudge match. All four simultaneously glared at Odd, who had been watching them argue silently. He seemed awfully confused that the arguing had suddenly stopped. "Well? Whose side are you on?" Laura demanded.

"I—what?" Odd asked.

"What do you think about blood magic, Odd?" Aelita asked, gentler than Laura but still sharp.

Odd blinked. "I… I think…" He was silent for a moment. "I think that I need to hunt. Explore maybe." There was another silence. "I'm leaving. Uh, bye." He stood, grabbed his bow and quiver and ran away from the campsite.

The teenagers glared at each other for a long time before they arguing started again.

 

Yumi sat up slowly, her head pounding after several hours of unconsciousness. She looked around, realizing she was in the aravel. She sighed. She rubbed her head, feeling the cloth bandages wrapped meticulously around her skull. The Colonist tried to remember what had happened, but everything was fuzzy. She remembered ice, and her skin burning like fire…

Her train of thought was cut off by yelling. It didn't start quietly at all but came out of nowhere, suggesting her hearing had only just returned. Yumi grabbed her staff and used it for support as she hobbled out of the aravel to investigate the noise.

She didn't know what she was expecting. From the sound, she must've thought that they were being attacked again. However, it was just Laura, Jeremie, Ulrich and Aelita, and as she listened in, she learned that it was about blood… no, blood magic.

The Colonist groaned. Oh, how she hated blood magic—not the magic in itself but what it had done to them. Everywhere they went they were haunted by this vague idea of a demon that had seduced Aelita. It had torn a rift between Jeremie and Aelita and Ulrich. It had built a bridge between Laura and Jeremie where one should not have existed. It was tearing them apart and Yumi, for one, was sick of it.

"ENOUGH!!" Yumi shouted at the top of her lungs, scaring the other Heroes and almost causing the very earth to quake in fear. She stormed over to the campfire and drove her bo staff into the earth. "Look at what you're doing! Do you think this is the best way to solve our problems? To just shout at one another until either violence breaks out or one side gives up?"

Ulrich started to protest. "But they—"

"Shut up!" Yumi ordered. She looked to the younger Heroes. "When we started this journey, there were seven of us. Now William is dead, and it is more important than ever to stick together. So let me clear this up right now, to save us from future debates."

Yumi looked at Aelita with a soft expression. "Aelita, I understand where you're coming from, I do. I understand survival, and how isolated you must feel." She shook her head. "But once you had freed yourself, there was no need to keep practicing blood magic. You know at least a dozen other kinds of magic; I've seen you use it!"

The Colonist then looked at Laura. "You're my princess, and I respect you, Laura. And I know where you're coming from. Demons hurt people, and blood magic causes a lot of suffering." She folded her arms. "But blood magic isn't the only evil in this world. You do things simply to hurt people, and that can be just as dangerous as a possessed magician."

Yumi looked at the boys now. "Laura and Aelita have never gotten along. I don't expect them to now." She furrowed her brows. "But the two of you used to be friends! You would've died for the other! Now you're just… just being petty!" She looked at all of her friends. "This issue will not be resolved tonight or anytime soon, not until we all either accept Aelita for who she is, or if she decides to give up this thing that keeps hurting us. But we will stop fighting about it, understood?"

The other Heroes seemed angry at first, but then they sighed and agreed. "Good. Then go to bed and think about what I said. I can't trust any of you to keep watch tonight." The teenagers began to argue, but Yumi pointed at the tents. When they had gone, she sat and watched the fire as it flickered like her anger. Yumi grabbed a bit of dry grass and tossed it into the flames, watching it turn to ash. He sighed heavily, thinking about what she'd said and what had happened in the past.

Had she done the right thing? She hoped so. So much had been going wrong, and the shiver that crawled like a spider up her spine told her that they were not yet out of the proverbial woods.

Ulrich and Laura fumed silently in their tents, though for radically different and yet eerily similar reasons. For Ulrich, he couldn't believe that Yumi would be so mad as to yell at him for trying to defend Aelita, whom he knew Yumi considered a friend. Nor could he imagine her suggesting that Aelita give up a potent weapon that they could end up needing in the future. Laura, for her part, couldn't believe that Yumi would even hint at acceptance of witchcraft. Even if not for its own sake, couldn't the Colonist see how much this was hurting the group's unity and ability to fight. All the power in the world was for nothing if you couldn't count on using it in the future and that's part of what made blood magic so dangerous. Reliance on a demon that would destroy everything the moment that power would be needed most because that was when the 'host' was the weakest.

Jeremie was lost in his own thoughts again, though at least he wasn't crying this time. No, he could once again feel the sensation of his blood holding his body in the air. It was like every square inch of his body was being prodded by needles and yet… Was it too much to pay for being alive? The fall would have killed him and the momentum imparted by the falling monstrosity took him out of arms reach of anything on the wall of the cliff. It was impossible to ignore the pain, it was impossible to ignore the vague sense that something otherworldly was enjoying the pain of blood magic. But, as his eyes looked to the sword he carried into battle and he felt the heavy weight of the life that blade had taken settle again on his soul the question wasn't: Could good ever come of evil? It was more like: Could good come from something designed by evil?


	27. Autumn 12

Episode 12: Speak No Evil

30th of Umbralis

 

It only came in short spurts, disconnected flashes followed by reactions that seemed delayed by half a second. Wherever he was, it was labyrinthine and far larger than appearances would have him believe. Around every turn was another illusion, more scars that would heal over time but never go away and more anguish. And over it all was the woman with the fiery eyes.

Jeremie sat up. He closed his eyes and pushed his hair back, asking why he could never have pleasant visions. He dressed quickly and exited his tent, packing up his things when he saw he was the last of the Heroes to awaken. They began to travel again.

About half an hour later, Yumi pointed to the horizon. "Look, you can see Vulcan's Bridge from here. It looks like it collapsed." She said. The others looked, and they could see where the bridge had fallen.

Ulrich crossed his arms. "I guess that's why they wouldn't let us cross. It's impossible to do so."

Odd shook his head. "I don't see why they didn't just tell us that."

"Dwarves are famous for their craftsmanship. I don't think people would believe the Rangers if they said the bridge had collapsed, or the dwarves could have asked the Rangers not to tell." Jeremie explained. "I'm sure that, even if the bridge had been sabotaged and that's the reason it collapsed, the dwarves wouldn't want the general public to know about it."

"I like dwarves, but I can't ever get them to talk to me." Aelita said.

The group continued on for about half a mile, talking amongst themselves. Odd was unusually close to Aelita, and though she seemed to enjoy talking to him, she seemed confused at why he was close to her. Jeremie kept listening to them, though for the most part it was innocent chatter. Suddenly there was a crack, and the aravel jerked back and forth before tilting to the right. The teenagers jumped, and Rorkal startled before Aelita ran to his side to calm him. "Goodness! What happened?" Laura exclaimed.

Jeremie examined the tilt, cursing when he found that a rock had damaged the wheel. He slammed his hand on the side of the aravel and stood. "Dammit! The wheel's broken! It must've hit a rock." He cursed under his breath. "We can't afford to just sit out here in the open. Why did this have to happen now?"

Aelita moved to grab his shoulder but she hesitated before dropping it. Instead she examined the wheel. "Don't worry lethallin. Everything here can be fixed. It'll only take until morning, if I start now."

Jeremie tore at his hair. "Gods! A whole desert to walk through and we hit the only rock!"

Odd laughed in spite of the situation. "I'm sure that it isn't the only rock."

Laura seemed confused. "You're really on edge today."

Aelita manipulated the earth, creating a mount that would support her side of the aravel then pulled the wheel off of its axel. "I'll start repairing the wheel. Just calm down." Aelita said. Ulrich and Jeremie moved the rock while Aelita examined the broken wheel. The leather had torn and the wood on the inside had snapped, but with her skills it could be easily remedied.

The others set up camp while Aelita used her magic to create enough wood to replace the snapped wheel. She peeled off the leather, removed the broken wheel and began to carve the new one.

A few hours later, about an hour and a half before sunset, Aelita had finished carving a new wheel. She smiled at her handiwork. Odd approached her from behind. "This is beautifully carved." The Scout complimented, tracing the archaic runes that Aelita had carved into the wood in hopes that they would strengthen it.

"Thank you. Hopefully this will be stronger. It may even get Jeremie to relax." Aelita said. She looked up at him. "Has he told you why he's been on edge? He's been like this since yesterday."

Odd touched Aelita's shoulder as she examined the leather in an attempt to decide if it was worth saving. "Jeremie doesn't tell me much of anything." Odd said.

"I do wish he would calm down. He acts like we're being chased or something." She laughed half-heartedly. "Although I guess we are being chased. Still, he's on edge."

"Maybe you should relax," Odd said. He kissed her neck, and she froze. She leapt up, nearly dropping the wheel.

Aelita laughed nervously. "I need to patch up the leather, otherwise the aravel will sit weird and nobody wants it just shaking side to side." She explained quickly. She grabbed the sewing kit from the shelf in the aravel, and she sat close to Ulrich. Ulrich looked from her to Odd then simply shrugged as Aelita began meticulously patching the leather.

Odd looked over to Jeremie, who suddenly looked down at the map. Odd shook his head. After a few minutes, Jeremie folded the map and looked at the Scout. "Odd, why don't you and I go scouting? See what's around." The Wise Man offered, the smile on his face obviously forced.

Odd looked up at the orange sky, spotting the first of many stars. "Tonight is a full moon. Are you sure that you want me to accompany you?" Odd asked.

"It won't take long. It's just that I'm getting antsy and I don't think it's safe to go alone." Jeremie explained.

He looked at the others. Ulrich and Yumi nodded, while Aelita refused to look at him. Laura just seemed confused. "Okay, whatever you say, Belpois."

The two boys stood and left the campsite. North of their position were buttes and sand dunes, though when they finally stopped walking, Odd spotted an old statue that was taller than even the slopes of the canyon walls that had been toppled and buried in sand. The land here seemed to have been less arid than other parts of the desert—the Scout spotted a small group of trees near a well. The sky was streaked with orange and pink still, though the colors were fading as the sun hid for the night. Odd was about to advise Jeremie to head back to camp before he transformed when the Wise Man spun on his heel, kicking up sand in the process. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded, anger evident in his blue eyes.

At first, Odd was confused. "Um… standing here?" He suggested. "I was following you, but you stopped."

"Not now. Back at camp!" Jeremie clarified crossly. When Odd offered nothing, he added, "With Aelita? This wasn't even half an hour ago."

"Oh, you mean the kiss?" Odd laughed. "Please. It was innocent."

"Your definition of innocent baffles me. A kiss on the forehead? Innocent. The neck is sexual, which is not, by its very definition, innocent." Jeremie argued.

Odd chuckled again. "To you, maybe. I've done worse." He folded his arms across his chest. "If she doesn't want me to pursue her, she will tell me."

"I don't think she wants to tell you off and is trying to get you to leave her alone more subtly."

"What makes you say that?"

"She ran from you!"

Odd shook his head. "Why do you even care? Are you jealous?"

"No, I'm not jealous! I'm just… concerned." Jeremie ran his fingers through his hair. "Your history with women involves using them and throwing them away."

"I object! I don't 'use' anyone. I get what I want, they get what they want. There is no loser." Odd disagreed. "It's just fun. Doesn't Aelita deserve to have fun?"

"That isn't what Aelita wants! If that's what she wanted, do you think she would've run away from the brothel?" Jeremie demanded. "And don't think that I didn't notice you didn't deny that was your intention!"

"Was that in dispute?"

"I can't believe you! You would actually use her like that?"

"Only if she wanted to use me in return. Like I said, it's a mutual exchange." Odd narrowed his eyes with a smirk. "But while we're on the subject, I distinctly remember her telling you that she doesn't want your protection. So why are you bothering me about it?"

"I don't want her to get hurt by entering into a relationship with you thinking that it'll mean something to you that it won't!"

"You mean what she did with you?" Odd asked, and the words cut at Jeremie like a dagger. If he was angry before, he was livid now.

"How dare you even suggest that what went down between Aelita and I meant nothing to me!" Jeremie shouted. Odd was glad they were so far away from camp—the conversation was getting more heated by the second, and his transformation was getting closer.

"I never said that it meant nothing; just that it meant something different." Odd said. "You're the one who sent her away, remember? And not an hour later did you accept Laura's proposal of marriage."

"This has nothing to do with—"

"This has everything to do with what happened that day!" Odd interrupted him. "If you don't want to marry Princess Bitchiness, then call it off and apologize, but if you're really adamant about marrying Laura, then stop treating Aelita like you own her!"

"I don't treat Aelita like I own her!" Jeremie shouted.

"Oh, really? You're doing a piss poor job at showing it!" Odd looked away. "She can't do anything without you watching over her like a fucking gargoyle, and if she tries to do something she's actually good at you act like she just killed a baby! It's slavery of a different kind!"

"I DO NOT TREAT AELITA LIKE A SLAVE!" Jeremie screamed.

"You might as well! Anything would be better than watching you suffer with Laura!"

"I am not suffering with Laura!"

"Yes, you a—" Odd stopped his sentence short, looking quickly over to the distance opposite camp. "Shut up. Did you hear something?"

Jeremie took in a deep breath before he spoke. "I don't hear anything." He said calmly. Odd said nothing in return, and suddenly Jeremie understood. "Wait… what happened to the coyotes and the winterbirds and… everything?" He wore a frightened expression as he said, "Uh-oh."

Jeremie and Odd drew their weapons and stood back to back. "I don't see anything." Odd said as the scanned the area. There were a few things to hide behind, but not in such numbers as to scare away the coyotes.

"Moonrise is only a few minutes away. Your wolf sense should be able to sniff them out, whoever they are." Jeremie said.

Down from the starry sky came an arrow, piercing Odd's shoulder. He yelped, and quickly looked from the arrow to the sky. There was nothing in the void above but twinkling stars. With moonrise drawing closer, Odd's night vision became sharper, and he saw something dart by a dark cloud. He tried to relay this to Jeremie, but his voice came out more like a pained growl. Odd looked back to the arrow, and he noticed it was made of silver. As fire pained his blood, he noted angrily that it was likely poisoned with wolf's bane.

Jeremie turned when Odd fell to his knees. "Odd! Gods, you've been hit!" Jeremie apologized before gruffly pulling out the poisoned arrow, ripping his shirt to create a makeshift bandage. "Try not to move. I'll contact Laura and the others; just hold on."

Odd tried to stop Jeremie from closing his eyes, but the Wise Man was more focused on saving him than paying attention to his actions. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Laura's hazel eyes in his head. Suddenly, he felt something hit him in the head, as if someone had sucker punched him. Jeremie fell to the ground, his vision growing dark.


	28. Autumn 13

Episode 13: See No Evil

1st of Cassus

 

Jeremie woke slowly in a cold room, his breathing pained and uneven. The first thing he noticed were the chains that wrapped around his person, and the second was that his spectacles had been removed. His vision was blurry, but as he looked around, he could see familiar shapes belonging to instruments of torture. Jeremie saw a rack, a brazen bull, a chair of torture and stocks, among other things. His chains bound him to the wall--they seemed to originate from the depths of the wall, as they reached out through a hole laminated with iron. Next to him was an iron table, but whatever lay on it was a mystery to him. The only visible item was a steel bar. Jeremie looked above him. Many chains hung loosely from the ceiling, but directly above him was a skylight with bars all but blocking the ominous view of the gallows.

Where was he? Was this the place in his vision? The labyrinthine quarry his foresight had tried to warn him of?

Jeremie tried to stand but the chains rubbed against his chest. He struggled against the bonds for a while but the only thing that came from it was the rattling, reminding him all too well of how isolated he'd become.

The others! The Wise Man remembered his telepathy, and he tried to contact the others. Odd gave no response—either their attackers had killed him, or he was unconscious. Jeremie hoped for the latter. He tried contacting Laura, Yumi and Ulrich with no luck. This felt different—they were not dead nor were they blocking him out but he could not contact them. He then tried Aelita.

Of all his friends Aelita offered the most hope of reestablishing contact. While he could not hear her thoughts like a conversation, he felt her. It was not altogether a pleasant experience, mostly due to the fact that the things he felt were unpleasant. He felt her loneliness, her depression, her emotional scars as well as lingering memories of physical pain. Jeremie could not tell if Aelita could help him however--their communication was cut off, and he did not know if his pleas for help went through to her.

"Sleep well?" A voice asked in the darkness. Jeremie looked up again through the bars to the midnight sky, and then around the ceiling. A woman hung upside down--had she always been there? She had long fair hair, and her skin was white as winter snow. There were many things he noticed about her—her accent seeming several centuries out of date, and her face holding a cracked expression but her most notable feature were her glowing orange eyes, resembling fire.

"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" Jeremie asked.

The woman flipped around and landed on her feet like an acrobat. "Does it matter who I am? All that matters is that you're still very much alive." She laughed, her voice pulling back and forth between pitches. She examined Jeremie's neck, and then shook her head. "I wonder if you'll survive the turning?"

The turning? That didn't sound altogether pleasant. "I want no part of whatever you have planned! Let me go!"

"Oh, how could I disobey when you say that in such a commanding voice!" The woman mocked him. "Truth be told, milord moonshine, I plan very little in advance. You could avoid a plan or your desire to avoid it could play you into my hands. We shall see what the outcome is."

The woman grabbed the steel bar and heated it over a flame. She weighed it in her hands. "I suppose this is where you expect me to talk or die?" Jeremie asked.

"Or? Those things need not be mutually exclusive, milord moonshine." She struck him with the heated steel, burning his face and causing immense pain. He spit onto the rough stone below him, blood tainting the liquid. He'd bit his cheek. "If you behave you will die. But your likeness will live on in undeath."

Jeremie coughed. She struck him again but he recovered faster the second time. "That isn't much of an ultimatum."

The woman shrugged. "I'm not here to impress you." She cackled. "My kind isn’t known for impressing mortals with plans, you know. It is our power over others that make us impressive." She grinned, revealing her fangs, sharper than the sword that had once been at his side.

This woman was a vampire! "So, what, do you intend to make me a vampire?" Jeremie demanded. "I'm quite happy with a living breathing vessel!"

"I may turn you. But only if I know that you will survive and you cannot serve me better in other ways. Believe me, milord moonshine—your actions to come may damn you. But today that's what you want." She grabbed a dagger from the table. She weighed it in her hands before stabbing Jeremie in the shoulder with it. Through his pained breathing she whispered to him, "Good luck."

She he took a few steps back wearing a malicious grin. She clawed her fingers and closed her fists, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Now he was alone with his thoughts. Jeremie could only hear the fire crackling next to him; he could not feel its warmth. As the fire began to die, he felt like he was going mad within his own mind, his regrets and isolation slowly eroding his thoughts.

Suddenly he was pulled back against the wall, the back of his head striking the stones. He yelped and then screamed as he learned the wall was retracting its chains, pulling them back into the bowels of wherever they came from. The Wise Man stood, grabbing his arms where the chains had rubbed his skin and folding his arms against his chest. He walked over to the other side of the room and leaned against it as he scanned the area for a door. There didn't seem to be a door until the wall separated, revealing a blinding white light.

Jeremie looked at it for a moment. He moved towards it, spotting his spectacles on the table. He grabbed them, muttering when he saw that they'd been snapped and the glass cracked. He did his best to repair them to a point where he could wear them. Then, he proceeded to walk towards the white light.

Soon the glare faded and Jeremie could see where he was. The hallway where he stood was long and dark, and it reeked of foul blood and death. Jeremie leaned against the wall but pulled away when his fingers touched a cold, thick liquid that had been splattered on the walls. Torches he hadn't seen lit up the hall, and the Wise Man's jaw dropped in horror at what he saw.

Body parts lined the walls, but whole corpses were not present. It was as if he had walked into a demonic butcher shop, legs and chests hanging limply from chains and hooks from the ceiling. Now that he could see the bodies the smell became real, not just some lingering stench. He coughed and pulled his shirt's collar over his nose before proceeding down the dank hallway.

He tried contacting Aelita again, briefly able to experience her fear before the connection shattered like glass. Now his head throbbed, the place where the vampire had hit him sending a pulse through his skull. Jeremie shook his head before he continued.

The hallway forked off, and foolishly Jeremie tried to go down the path with less visible gore. The walls closed in front of him; had he been even a step further down the path it would have crushed him. With a sigh, he turned and walked down the other path.

This path, too, forked, and both seemed equally dreadful. Suddenly Jeremie heard Aelita scream his name. He turned to see someone dragging her down one of the paths. "Aelita! Hold on!" He shouted, sprinting after the man hauling her off. She screamed his name again, but the door slammed in his face, and no matter how he struggled against it, it refused to open. He looked down to the other path, and he could only hope that the dungeon circled.

The Wise Man raced down the hall, ignoring his pounding head and fatigue. He climbed a flight of stairs, coming to the courtyard where executions were carried out. It was fenced in by the dungeon, which stood what looked like three stories high. The morning sun had risen now, casting a hazy glow over everything and painting the sky in pastel colors, contrary to the dark scene below. He froze when he saw who resided there.

Odd's corpse was the closest to him; it was in werewolf form, implying he'd died earlier that night. Odd had been bled dry, his bones rubbed with wolf's bane until they had become brittle and cracked. Jeremie shakily grabbed the note gabbed into Odd's corpse and read it out loud. "Monster,"

Jeremie looked over to a table where he saw a woman with short black hair. He ran to it, turning her over to see her face. It was Yumi, her throat and arms sliced open. She, too, had been labeled, her note all but unreadable from the blood and the sword that had attached it to her gut. "Assassin,"

Behind him, next to a vhenadahl tree, stood the gallows that had hung over his head in the dungeon. A woman's corpse hung limply from it, her body and her long blonde hair swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. Jeremie rushed over to it. Laura's body had been desecrated, cuts placed in her corpse post mortem. The note gabbed into her chest by a wooden stake read "Oppressor."

Jeremie felt misery rise up into his throat, and he fell to his knees. His friends must've come to save him, and all he had caused was their deaths. Monster, assassin, oppressor. Those words he'd thought but never said… Did they die wishing they hadn't come for him?

His mourning was postponed when Aelita shouted for him again, though her voice seemed far away. Jeremie leapt to his feet, and he raced toward a set of stairs leading back into the dungeon. He followed the sounds of her screams, her pleas for mercy. He was more horrified with every scream that created a cacophony inside his head. Jeremie could only fear the worst.

When Jeremie finally discovered her, the man who had abducted her was gone. There was evidence of rape and a struggle. Aelita herself was tied to a stake and committed to the flame. "Aelita!" Jeremie shouted repeatedly, as if saying her name like a prayer would change her situation. The Wise Man found a jug of water and threw it onto the fire, using the dagger the vampire had stabbed him with to cut the rope.

But it was too late. As Jeremie held the badly burned Outcast in his arms, he learned that she had stopped breathing. "AELITA!" Jeremie screamed, pulling her body closer to him. What he would give to change this. "I am so sorry! For sending you away, for accepting Laura's proposal, for calling you names, for everything! I love you! Please, you can't be dead!"

Jeremie cried into her, wishing he lived in a fairy tale where his tears would bring her back to life. He cried for a long time until a familiar voice brought him back. "You ungrateful little shit! You caused all of this to happen!"

The Wise Man looked up to see Ulrich standing over him, anger in his face. The Mercenary drew his katanna and moved as if to strike him, but he stopped when Jeremie flinched. "Even now as she lay dead by your hands you flinch as if to save your own life? Coward."

Jeremie looked up at him. "You cannot believe that I killed her, Ulrich! I would never hurt Aelita!" He screamed desperately.

"Actions speak louder than words, Jeremie. You sent her away with nothing, did not challenge your fiancée when she mocked her, and now here you stand, her corpse in your hands." Ulrich spat. "You will die for what you did to her."

Jeremie dodged Ulrich's blade, and he spotted a sword and shield in the corner. The Wise Man scrambled to collect them, and he prepared for Ulrich's strike. The first strike was easily deflected by the shield, despite the brittle metal. The second scraped his side, and in a panic Jeremie flailed, striking Ulrich with the shield. The Mercenary was staggered, so Jeremie bashed it against him again. In his former friend's pain and state of immobility, he stabbed Ulrich in the gut.

For a moment it was only the death of an enemy, but then he remembered that he and Ulrich had been friends. Panicked, Jeremie walked back, dropping the sword and shield. Ulrich looked to the hole in his gut, rubbing his insides before falling dead to the floor. "Ulrich! I'm so sorry!" Jeremie shouted, shaking his friend as if it would wake him.

"Well done. Well done indeed." The vampire clapped slowly, appearing slowly behind the Wise Man. Jeremie was so angry with her; he couldn't bring himself to turn around. "You made it here in one piece. Not everyone does."

"My friends are dead. It's my fault." Jeremie lamented.

"You don't need them. They were weak. You are strong." The vampire said. "And they were mortal. You will be young forever."

"I don't want this! I would rather die than be a leech!" He shouted.

"You will change your mind, I know it." The vampire said.

Jeremie shook his head. "No, I won't. Just kill me and be done with it."

The vampire sighed, and she struck the back of Jeremie's skull, knocking him unconscious. She flipped him over and held her ear to his heart. "Still alive, but I can remedy that." She dragged him out of the room, her tests concluded. The illusions faded away behind her.

 

Jeremie woke several hours later back in the room he'd woken the first time. This time, however, he was tied to the table and his neck burned. The woman stood with her back to him, examining a mirror. A shadow twisted inside it briefly before it faded. She turned and walked closer to him, examining him carefully. His blue eyes were speckled with red and orange as her venom flowed through his veins. The vampire smiled and used a knife to mark his face for easy identification should he run later. She cut a mark from the left side of his mouth over a few centimeters, and then his left cheekbone. "You're mine now, pet. Now and forever."

And like a pet she collared him, reveling in every glare he sent her way. Jeremie finally turned his head away, and he mourned for the death of his friends. He felt a strange feeling in his chest, like someone was trying to comfort him. In his mind he saw the expansive desert, but it faded quickly. What had he seen? What could it possibly mean?


	29. Autumn 14

Episode 14: Hear No Evil

1st of Cassus

 

Aelita sat next to the fire, and she held her head in her hand as she felt something invade her mind. She felt the presence grab hold of her private thoughts, the ones even Jeremie could not reach—her memories and emotions. In turn, she felt the presence's shared isolation and confusion. Aelita shook the presence off, shrugging it off as a demon. The Veil in Ravenbow Canyon was thin, and the spirits were active on that night.

Aelita looked over to the tents where the others slept. Her eyes lingered on Jeremie's tent, her heart heavy for the events that had happened the day before. Surely he knew she had not initiated it… no? It was painful for him to be so close and yet any contact between them would be inappropriate. But as she pondered this, something felt wrong. She stood, looking around before walking closer to Jeremie's tent. Cautiously, she opened it, only to find that he was not inside.

This fact filled Aelita's heart with worry. Jeremie and Odd had gone scouting many hours earlier, and while Odd stayed away from camp during the full moon anyway, Jeremie almost always returned before darkness fell. Sometimes he ran late of course, but it was past midnight now, and dangerous things lurked in the dunes.

She paced around the fire for a while, praying that Jeremie would walk back into camp. She felt the invasion inside her mind again, but the presence didn't probe any further than her fear. The connection between Aelita and the presence shattered like glass, causing her to flinch. But now she felt its lingering effects, inevitability and confusion colliding with her worry and fear.

Aelita fiddled with her fingers nervously, and unable to hold onto her nerve, she rushed over to Ulrich's tent and shook him awake. "Ulrich! Ulrich, wake up! It's almost sunrise and Jeremie hasn't returned!" She said as the Mercenary sat up groggily.

"I… what are you talking about?" Ulrich asked, his voice scratchy.

"Jeremie! He hasn't come back! I'm afraid something terrible has happened to him!" Aelita shouted.

Ulrich rolled his eyes, but he asked her to leave his tent while he dressed. Aelita woke Yumi and Laura, and they too dressed. In the meantime, Aelita paced around the campfire. She gently woke Rorkal, as the Heroes were all leaving camp and it wasn't safe to leave it unattended. They worked together to pack up camp, and headed north, where the two boys had headed.

There was no sign of them for a long time, not that any of them had expected there to be. Many hours had passed since Jeremie and Odd had scouted that way, and the wind had swept away their path. Eventually, however, they came across a fallen statue near a small group of trees and a well. Yumi suggested they investigate the well, as there appeared to be someone standing near it.

As they neared, the person entered a defensive position, obviously unhappy with their presence. His weapon shone in the light given off by the rising sun, and as Yumi and Ulrich drew their weapons while Laura and Aelita prepared their magic, it became obvious that the man was in fact an orc carrying a silver greatsword. Yumi pointed at the group of trees. "Look! There's Odd!"

Yumi and Ulrich charged the orc, who gave a battle cry in his strange tongue, and the battle began. Ulrich deflected the slash with his katanna while Yumi threw kunai at his chest. The orc used his gauntlet to stop most of the kunai, but when he grabbed a throwing knife from his own belt and threw it at Yumi; she put on her mask and vanished into thin air. Aelita pulled a boulder from the earth with her magic, holding onto it while Laura set it ablaze. The Outcast launched it at the orc, striking him. Surprisingly, he survived, but Ulrich pushed him towards the well. Yumi removed her mask and tripped him with her bo staff.

Laura rushed over to Odd's side, examining the binds that kept him tied to the tree. Looking around, she could not see Jeremie and concluded that he wasn't there, but whoever had taken him had obviously been prepared for a fight. Odd had been caught in silver chains. "Maybe whoever took Jeremie was working with the orc. See if you can't get him out of the well."

Laura fiddled with the chains, struggling to find a way to break them. With no obvious and quick solution presenting itself, she sat him up and followed the chain until she found the lock. It looked sturdy and she didn't have the skill to pick it anyway. Sighing, she told Odd she was sorry and had him move so that she could get the lock as far away from his body as possible. Then she summoned a small controlled fire and focused it into an intense jet directed at the lock's loop. Odd began to squirm as the metal went from a dull red glow to a bright cherry red and the heat carried through the chains to his back. "Hold on Odd, just a little longer" Laura soothed as she finished melting the lock. As soon as the loop was melted through she began pulling the chains off of Odd's body, hissing as the hot metal scorched her skin.

The Scout had been beaten pretty badly; scars left by silver had persisted through his werewolf form and marred his arms. It seemed that, by Odd's troubled expression, the fact he was still dressed, and the orange glow in his eyes when they snapped that his assailants had found a way to interrupt his transformation. He pushed against Laura gently, shaking his head. "Ugh, I feel like death." Odd said quietly.

"What happened to you? Where is Jeremie?" Laura asked before she glanced over her shoulder as Aelita, Yumi and Ulrich finished pulling the orc out of the well.

Odd blinked, and the brown returned to his eyes. "Jeremie and I… were arguing. Gods, I can't even remember why. Then there was no sound, not even from the animals. I was struck with a silver arrow and when Jeremie tried to help me, something knocked him out. Then I was ambushed by zombies and that orc over there."

Laura nodded then glanced over to where the other teens were arguing over who was unlucky enough to have to search the waterlogged orc. She turned away when they tried questioning him and started to heal Odd's wounds, though it seemed that the scars left by the silver persisted despite healing. She cursed, but he waved her off, claiming they made him look hardier. The others joined Laura, and Odd repeated his story to them.

Laura looked at the other Heroes. "Did you find anything that could help us locate Jeremie? A map, or a symbol? Maybe the orc said something useful?"

Yumi shook her head. "No, nothing. This person, or people, covered their tracks well." She gestured towards the dead orc, "He didn't have any answers, none that we had any hope of comprehending anyway."

"Please, Odd. You must remember something else." Aelita begged.

Odd closed his eyes and thought hard. In flashes, he remembered the argument with Jeremie—then it hit him like a brick; Jeremie had been angry with him because he'd kissed Aelita—and the attack. The voice of a woman, her accent from centuries before any of the Heroes had been born. He recognized the way her face had been warped, but from where? From three years ago, in the cavern…

"Yes. The woman who kidnapped Jeremie was a vampire." Odd said, and his face twisted into worry. "If she wanted a guardian or blood cattle, she would've taken me or all of you. She must have something else in mind."

Yumi looked to the others. "So now we know what we're up against. A vampire, and a necromancer at that."

Aelita shook her head. "Poor Jeremie!" Her face twisted in anger. "When I get my hands on this vampire, she'll wish she'd never been born!" Her fingers crackled with lightning, and she took a deep breath to regain control. Laura looked at her strangely, but Aelita didn't back down from her stare.

Laura sighed. "Which way did she go, Odd? Do you know?"

The Scout shook his head. "No. I'm sorry. The orc dragged me over here, and I wasn't able to see where she went." He hung his head, ashamed. "This is all my fault. He wouldn't have dragged me away from camp if I hadn't made such a dick out of myself."

"Wait, what did you do?" Laura asked.

"It didn't mean anything to me, but I should've known that…" He stopped his sentence short. With a smirk, he tried to lighten the mood. "Anyway, Aelita, I think we should stop this now before anyone else gets hurt."

Aelita rolled her eyes. "You know, I think I can live with that." She said flatly.

"It's not you; it's me." Odd added.

Ulrich took a step closer to Odd. "Enough of this, Odd." He then folded his arms. "You're our tracker. Can you find out which way they went?"

"Without any idea of where she took him, any clues to their path or a sample of a scent I can use? Not even I'm that good." Odd said flatly.

"Dammit. We're back at square one." Ulrich cursed.

Aelita suddenly lost her balance, and she leaned against a nearby tree. Erahalam's blade pierced her stomach, and the staff flew out of the Outcast's reach and over to the area Odd had identified as the ambush sight. She stood and chased after the staff, and the other Heroes followed her. "Murray, what's gotten into you?" Aelita asked as she grabbed the wooden staff. The eye sockets glowed red, as did the sand beneath the blade. The Outcast dug in it, discovering a place where the sand had been stained red from the Wise Man's blood. "Why are you helping us find Jeremie? You don't even like him!"

Laura leaned over and whispered to Ulrich, "She's talking to the stick. Why is she talking to the stick?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should try it sometime and find out!" Ulrich said sharply.

Nevertheless, Aelita kneeled and scooped some of the bloody sand onto her fingers. She presented it to the skull, and the red glow turned blue. It spun for a moment, and then created a beam of light headed to the northwest. Then the light faded, and the staff fell, lifeless. "Jeremie must've been taken to the northwest." Aelita said, picking up Erahalam.

"We should get moving. There's no telling what she's done to him." Ulrich said.

 

The sky had returned to its natural blue by the time the Heroes reached the location they believed Jeremie to be held in. It was a quarry that had once held mithril, long since abandoned when the miners mysteriously vanished circa 4:16 East. Part of the area was built into the quarry, though it seemed that some of it carried over onto higher ground. The descent down was marked by rotting corpses on pikes. "This crossed the border of strange and went right on into Freaky Town," Odd said nervously. Sighing, he added, "If Jeremie were anywhere, it would be here. This place reeks of vampire."

Ulrich turned to face the others. "We shouldn't send everyone in. With luck, we can just grab the captain and run back, but if not we don't want us all dying at once."

Yumi frowned but agreed. "Odd and I will stay here with the aravel."

Odd turned to face the Colonist. "What? You mean you don't want me to help with the rescue?" Yumi nodded, and the Scout seemed angry at first. "But it's because of me that Jeremie was kidnapped! I need to set this right!"

"Then set it right when the others have saved him! There's no point in you running in there; you're badly wounded! Don't think I haven't seen you limping!"

"I can still fight! Why not leave Laura here with you?" Odd suggested.

Yumi explained before Laura could voice her disapproval of Odd's comment. "I don't know why the vampire kidnapped Jeremie but I doubt it was for tea and cakes. He'll be badly wounded too, maybe even dead!"

Aelita shook her head. "Don't say that! Jeremie is alive, I know it!"

"Regardless, you shouldn't exert yourself. I'm staying here so I can make sure you get rest and you don't rush in before you need to." Yumi added. Odd began to protest, but the severe look Yumi wore made her feeling on the matter quite clear so he balled his fists and submitted. "How long should we wait before we follow you?"

Laura thought for a moment. "Give us an hour or two. This place is pretty large, but it shouldn't take much longer than that if we play our cards right."

Ulrich nodded to his lifelong friends. "We'll be back soon, with Jeremie." He, Aelita and Laura descended into the quarry, preparing for a fight. Eventually they came to an entrance that went into the rock face of the quarry.

When they entered, the door slammed behind them. The hallway was dark now, and Laura held out her palm, creating a light to show them where they walked. It seemed pretty normal at first, despite its bitter cold atmosphere and the darkness, but as they moved further in, things got stranger.

Ulrich, who walked in front of the magician girls, tripped over a hidden wire, causing a skeletal chest to strike him from shadows. He grunted in pain, and the girls screamed. The bones were red and sticky from blood. Ulrich pushed the skeletal ribcage off of him. "This vampire is seriously messed in the head." He said with a voice flatter than the Western Plains.  
The trio continued moving deeper into the gore filled dungeons, Aelita holding onto Ulrich for dear life. "Ulrich? Laura? I'd very much like to leave soon." She whispered. Laura nodded in agreement, and Ulrich couldn't help but agree with them in his thoughts. But they all knew that they had a job to do, and if he turned them around, neither of the magician girls would have forgiven him.

They came to a staircase, and seeing no other way to proceed, they climbed it. Soon they came across a courtyard, in the center of it a vhenadahl tree. "What's a vhenadahl doing here?" Laura asked.

"I don't know--wait." Aelita approached the tree. "Maybe... Maybe this is where Edna's first apprentice died. The elves would have planted a tree in his honor." She answered solemnly. Her eyes traced the tree and she jumped back with a short shout at the sight of the corpse swaying gently in the wind.

Ulrich and Laura converged on Aelita instantly; alert for whatever had startled the girl. The sight of the mutilated corpse led to a gasp from Laura followed quickly by a gasp from Ulrich as he scanned another area. He dashed over to a metal table and fearfully pushed the body of a young woman wearing black over so that he could see the face. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth only a moment before Aelita signaled the group with a quiet "um…" She pointed out the werewolf corpse and all three pondered the set of bodies.

A werewolf, and two female corpses dressed like Laura and Yumi. Physically they didn't resemble the girls, but after a moment of consideration their purpose was clear. Ulrich gave the thought voice, saying "Poor Jeremie. The vampire must've tried to convince him that his friends were dead."

They tried to go down the other path, but the female corpses rose from their rest, wearing ugly rotting faces. They charged the Heroes and Ulrich sliced at the corpse dressed as Laura's neck. Her head slid off, and he kicked her corpse away. The corpse dressed as Yumi charged the magician girl, but Laura set her aflame. Aelita sliced at her neck with the blade on Erahalam. All looked nervously to the werewolf's corpse but it remained still.

Ulrich led the girls down the next path and Laura tried her best to avoid stepping in the guts strewn across the hall. They came across a room that had been trashed, stumbling across the corpses dressed as Aelita and Ulrich. The smell of burning flesh still lingered in the air. Aelita covered her mouth, looking at the elven corpse that had been burned to the point that it was almost unrecognizable as an elf. Then she looked to the corpse dressed as Ulrich, noticing the puddle of cold blood. "I think he had to kill that corpse." Laura pointed to it.

"Well, I don't want to ruin his work." Ulrich said. He stabbed the elven corpse, and then the remaining human one. "This is a dead end. Should we turn around?"

Aelita shook her head, grabbing hold of the blood around her. She focused all her might on the wall, causing the wall to cave in. They were now in a new part of the dungeon, a hall where the walls were decorated with parts of corpses. Laura and Ulrich coughed at the stench of death, but Aelita only flinched.

They followed a dim light, and they discovered Jeremie unconscious inside. "Jeremie!" Aelita shouted, rushing to his side. She tried to rouse him to no avail. She panicked, seeing his pale face and fearing he had perished before they had arrived. Aelita sighed but still worried as she saw his chest rise and fall slowly, knowing that he still breathed. She caught sight of his neck, two holes in the side. "By the blood of the Creation Father! She's trying to turn him into a vampire!"

"What?!" Laura exclaimed. She rushed over to Jeremie's side. "Minerva's mercy, you're right! What do we do? We can't bring him back with us like this!"

Ulrich looked to Aelita. "How far along is he?"

Aelita forced open one of his eyes. About half of his iris was orange, and what little blue remained was dim. "We've got a couple more hours." She looked to the Mercenary with fire in her eyes. "The only way I know to save him is to kill his forebear."

Laura scoffed. "Like we weren't going to do that anyway."

Aelita glared at her, but she closed her eyes. Listening to the world around her, she could feel where the earth twisted. But oddly enough, it was above her. She looked up and gasped as she spotted a blonde vampire hanging from the ceiling. The vampire's eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping. Aelita silenced the others, and she pointed up at her.

Ulrich motioned to Laura, who nodded and conjured a small fire in her hands. The Fair sent the fire at the vampire, waking her and causing her to scream out in pain. She collapsed and tried to run, knocking over an Eluvian in the corner. It fell to the floor kicking up a cloud of dust and scattering small shards of glass as the mirror itself shattered, but nothing bad happened immediately. Ulrich jumped over the iron table Jeremie had been strapped to, and Aelita followed him. The Mercenary stabbed the vampire's throat, and the Outcast pushed off of his shoulders to land on the vampire's. Aelita used the blade on Erahalam to slice off the vampire's head.

Aelita presented the head to Laura, and while at first the princess grimaced, she agreed to the silent motion and set the head aflame. The Heroes then looked to Jeremie.

Slowly, color returned to his cheeks and the bite marks on his neck healed, though he remained unconscious. Aelita held his face gently in her hands, thankful that he had survived. In his unconscious state, the Wise Man uttered a single word. "Aelita?"

The word hit each member of the trio differently. To Aelita, it was like the voice of a benevolent spirit, or perhaps the Creator himself. He was alive, and he would survive. To Ulrich, it caused confusion. He had hated Jeremie for so long because of what he'd done to Aelita, but now his word offered a chance of reconciliation—both to Aelita and to the Mercenary. To Laura, it confirmed a doubt that had plagued her for many weeks, and it killed her to hear him do it.

Aelita placed her cheek to his. "I am here, ma vhenan."

Ulrich undid the binds, and he touched Aelita's shoulder before lifting Jeremie off of the table. Aelita followed him, looking back at Laura for a moment as the Fair stood in the room alone. Laura absently felt the small metal band around her ring finger and it seemed… Different. After another moment she followed after the trio, lost in her own thoughts and doubts.

 

Ulrich and Yumi placed Jeremie on a cot in the aravel, and Aelita sat on the other whilst Laura began to heal Jeremie's lacerations. It was awkward for a long while, and neither girl said anything. When the Fair had finished, she stopped and looked at the engagement ring on her finger.

It was gold, and Jeremie had bought it for her a few days after he'd sent Aelita away. Laura remembered being thrilled when he presented it to her. Had she known then? She must have, but she had ignored it so she could be happy in that moment.

Laura sighed, and hiding her hands from the Outcast, she removed the ring. She wrapped it in a handkerchief, and then secretly stuffed it into Jeremie's hand, curling his fingers around it. She placed the hand gently by his side then stood, and said simply, "I can't imagine that you'll leave his side until he wakes."

Aelita said nothing to this, not noticing the resigned tone to the Fair's voice. In fact, she didn't even flinch or look at Laura. Instead she stood and immediately took the chair, pulling it as close to the Wise Man as she could. Laura watched her for a moment, and with a final sigh, she exited the aravel. She gave the order for the others to pack up and head back for the road.


	30. Autumn 15

Episode 15: Rift

3rd of Cassus

 

"Come on, Kitten. You've been watching him for two days now. If you don't get some sunshine soon, you'll wilt." The voice was familiar, almost scarily so, and yet the tone of the voice was gentle, with none of the sharpness he'd once attributed to it.

"I'm not a plant, Ulrich. I'll be fine." A second voice said firmly, and this voice too was familiar. A hand brushed a stray hair gently from his face, her touch like lightning on his skin.

Jeremie could almost hear Ulrich roll his eyes. "You aren't eating and you aren't sleeping. If you don't change now you'll be in the cot right across from him."

Aelita sighed. "I know and appreciate what you're trying to do. But I will not leave Jeremie's side until he wakes."

Figuring that was his cue, Jeremie tried his best to sit up. "Not sure it means anything at this point, but you should listen to Ulrich," he muttered. His back was stiff and when he opened his eyes, he saw the aravel as it was illuminated by twilight. Only a second or two later a mess of rose-colored hair filled his vision, and Aelita's thin arms wrapped around him. It took him a moment to realize that, in her excitement, she'd jumped on top of him.

She moved enough so she could make eye contact. "Thank the Creator you're safe! I was beginning to think that she'd trapped you in a level of Bellanaris, and I would have to venture there to save you before a Guide found you."

For a moment, he could only think of how beautiful she was. The last image he had of her was her badly burned body, the look of pure terror and agony etched permanently into her face. Yet she was now here before him, exactly as he remembered her. Gently, he touched her cheek and she responded, bringing her hand up to cover his and pressing his hand fully against the side of her face with a soft smile. The warmth and softness of her cheek spread tingles down his arm and he closed his eyes, to focus on the sensation. In the darkness of his mind, he remembered that it had been her corpse that had been burned, and so this had to be either an illusion or her spirit in death. His eyes shot open. "Who are you? What are you?" He demanded.

Aelita seemed hurt as he pulled away his hand, and she reached to pull it back. At the same time, Ulrich grabbed Jeremie's shoulder causing him to turn his head sharply. He saw Ulrich and the memory came crashing against him, the sword plunging into the mercenary's gut. "You're… I…" Jeremie's breathing became quicker as he started to panic. "I didn't… I'm so sorry… you… you were…"

Ulrich withdrew his hand and tried to explain while Aelita glared at him. "When the vampire held you in her dungeon, she used illusions to trick you into thinking we had died. In reality we came for you many hours later, after you were about halfway through your turning." Jeremie's panic seemed to fade but he still looked confused so he added, "None of us died. We killed the vampire and pulled you out of the dungeon. You're safe and so are we."

Jeremie took a deep breath. He looked at Aelita again, and she took his hand. This time she gently uncurled his fingers and held his hand to her heart so that he could feel its nervous fluttering. To be honest Jeremie didn't know much about death except what he had seen, but he was led to believe that they didn't have heartbeats. He closed his eyes and asked what the man had done to her. She was confused, and as he tried to jog her memory she became increasingly horrified and angered by what he recounted. Finally she gave up on convincing him and gently moved his hand from over her heart. She stared at their joined hands for a moment before closing her eyes. "Reach out telepathically, you'll see I'm telling the truth."

The wise man thought for a second, considering the warm hand holding his and her denials. Logically, if she wasn't a spirit or a corpse as proven by her beating heart then she hadn't gone through anything he described since there was no time for her to have escaped and another person put in her place at the stake. Still, he reached out, not invading her mind but confirming that she was there, as were all the rest. Satisfied, he opened his eyes. "I trust you but I was worried…"

"I know." Aelita whispered.

As the silence between them stretched out Ulrich coughed to catch Jeremie's attention. "Aelita found this in your hand yesterday. We figured it was meant for you, so we haven't looked inside." He placed a small piece of fabric in Jeremie's hand. Jeremie unfolded it, and he blinked in surprise at its contents. Ulrich and Aelita looked at his hand, and they both seemed visibly uncomfortable at the sight of Laura's engagement ring. "I guess this explains why Laura avoids coming inside the aravel unless Aelita asks her to heal you. It must be painful to see you."

Aelita could only shake her head. "I don't know what to say. Anything I could offer would be insufficient." Or insincere, though it went unsaid.

Jeremie sighed, and Ulrich, still looking uncomfortable, stood up and moved back. "Anyway, now that you've awoken, the others will want to talk to you, and I guess you have some questions for Laura." Smirking, he looked to Aelita. "Now, if you're done manhandling him, you have meals to catch up on."

Aelita was about to question him when she noticed that she was still sitting on top of Jeremie. She jumped up and tried her best to shield her eyes. Jeremie stood and nodded.

He walked out of the aravel, looking up at the twilight sky. It was beautiful, with hundreds of twinkling stars. For a while he thought that the whole world had changed. He had thought that he'd died during the turning, and the world, if present at all, would be more like the Beyond. He turned his attention back to the camp, and he walked closer to the fire. Yumi was the first person to see him, and she jumped up. She hugged him, a wide smile across her face. "You're alright! For a while, we were all scared that you wouldn't make it. We thought that you had gone too far down the path of a vampire, and you would die shortly after your forebear." She motioned towards the aravel. "Aelita stayed by your side, though. She claimed she wasn't scared and that you would wake if she had to force you to."

Jeremie smiled back. "I'm fine. At least now I am." He folded his arms. "I'm just glad that all of you are alright. I was convinced that…"

"That we had died, I know." Yumi interrupted him as politely as she could. "Do me a favor, Belpois, and the next time you get yourself kidnapped, try not to fall for any tricky illusions."

Chuckling, Jeremie countered. "I have a better idea. How about we all try our best not to get kidnapped again?"

Yumi laughed as she said. "It's a deal!" She added off-handedly, "Oh, by the way, Odd said that he wanted to speak to you. He said that it was really important."

Jeremie nodded and looked around. He spotted the Scout firing arrows at a target hung on a cactus. The Wise Man approached him, and when he called out his name, Odd jumped. He returned his arrow to its quiver and gestured towards the distant target. Jeremie followed him in silence and watched quietly while Odd pulled the few arrows he'd fired out of the target. "Listen, before you say anything, there's something I need to get off of my chest." Odd began, silencing Jeremie when he tried to speak. "I shouldn't have kissed Aelita. I should've known you still had feelings for her, and even more I should've known that she wasn't interested in me. I'm usually better at reading people. I'm sorry."

He couldn't hold it in. "You've been practicing that for two days, haven't you?"

Odd laughed loudly. "Guilty as charged! I mean it, though." Quietly, he added, "You will have to make a choice one day, you know? But you should think about it. You don't want to do something that you'll regret. Trust me on that."

"I don't have to make that choice anymore. Laura's made it for me." Jeremie showed Odd the ring.

"You know, Laura has been mopey for the past couple of days. She's even started to smell like depression." Odd cringed. "FYI, depression does not smell good. It's… well, it's depressing." His expression changed, almost as if he were uncomfortable, though Jeremie dismissed this. Odd was never uncomfortable. "Speaking of smells… you smell different too. Do you know what might have happened?"

"I spent a day in a vampire's lair, and several hours enduring the turning. No doubt that rubbed off on me."

"The only thing I can say for sure is that you don't smell like cheese."

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "I think that, if the alternative is smelling like cheese, I can live with whatever I smell like."

Odd huffed and muttered, "Good thing you don't have to," under his breath.

Jeremie looked back at the Scout, "Hmm?"

"Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm imaging it." Odd shrugged. "Anyway, Laura's reading her grimoire. You'll likely find her on the other side of the aravel."

Jeremie nodded and walked away. Walking to the other side of the aravel, he found Laura curled up with her grimoire, her navy blue hood pulled over her head to mask her face. She looked up when Jeremie cast a shadow over the pages. "Oh, good. You're awake. That's… a good thing."

"A very good thing." Jeremie said. "Laura, what's going on? I don't understand what I did."

Laura sighed. "I know you don't. That's why I must do this. To you, and to us."

"You didn't answer my question." Jeremie said firmly.

"When we rescued you, after the vampire died, you said Aelita's name in your state of unconsciousness. At first I thought that she'd used blood magic on you, but then I looked at you and I knew you'd said it of your own free will." Laura pushed her hood back. "Even in your sleep, she's the only person you think about. If I cross your mind at all, it's an afterthought."

"So, what? You're going to give up? That's not like you." Jeremie protested.

She glared at him. "What, you want us both to be miserable for the rest of our natural lives?"

"I'm just trying to understand why you would… do this."

"You still love her, and even when you sent her away you never stopped. I don't know why for sure. I have some theories but they're painful to contemplate." She shook her head and furrowed her brows. "I can't see why. She's pretty enough, for the sort of man who likes that sort of thing. I just cannot imagine how you could love a witch."

Jeremie took an intimidating step forward. "Don't talk about her like that. I've tolerated it for too long."

Laura sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just… angry, and sad I guess." She didn't give Jeremie a chance to respond. She took his hand and removed his ring. She turned his hand over and placed the ring inside the palm before closing his fingers. "You were never mine, and you love her more than you could ever love me."

The Wise Man shook his head. "You know this won't automatically make everything between Aelita and me alright."

"I know. But… this is the first step of only a few. She loves you, and to her, I think that's all that matters." Laura walked around him, and she sat next to Yumi by the fire.

Jeremie stood by the aravel for a few more moments contemplating what had just happened. Turning the ring over in his hand idly, Laura's words sank through him and when he turned towards the fire he couldn't sort his conflicting emotions. What bubbled to the top however, was shame. He hadn't meant to but he had used Laura's heart as a salve for his own and a weapon against Aelita and now Laura was hurt because of his selfishness and inability to deal with his own emotion.

 

As Xana and Dhaune approached Koranth, snow began to swirl around them, biting mercilessly at their cheeks. Dhaune, who had never been one for cold, pulled her cloak around her. For a brief moment she felt pity for the slaves they had chained and carted with them. There were a hundred of them, but Dhaune wasn't sure why Xana required so many for a party consisting of herself, four other dark elf magicians, and Xana. Muttering, she said, "I'm sure whatever we're doing could be accomplished in a valley, but no, you had to take us to the top of Mount Son-of-a-bitch."

Xana chuckled. "Not today, my dear." They reached the summit, examining the burned ruins of Koranth. The Matron curled up her nose, angry at her failure many months ago. She ordered Dhaune and the other mages to draw a circle that was depicted in her book. When they had finished, Xana ordered the slaves to stand around it. She and the other magicians stood inside the glyph, with the Matron in the center.

One of the magicians finally spoke. "Matron Mother, we could do your will much better if we knew what you were trying to do."

Xana had closed her eyes when she entered meditation, but now she opened them. They glowed red and evilly, though her amber-colored eyes shone through the light. "All in good time." The Matron said, her voice reverberating with undertones of something sinister. The other magicians became frightened, but Xana shot up and held out her hands. All one hundred of the slaves, who had begun to shake from the bitter cold and their own fear, suddenly stood as straight as planks, their blood frozen inside them. "Join me! Give your power to me!" Xana shouted, the undertones more noticeable with every word.

The mages hesitated, but they obliged, focusing their magical might onto the Matron Mother. Red light shone through her skin as though it had cracks in it, and she began to float in midair. The slaves started to squirm as their blood both froze like ice and burned like fire. Xana waved her hand, and the collective blood of about half of the slaves burned out of their bodies, and the magicians felt the Veil shift worse than any normal blood magic could cause. She waved her other hand, causing the same effect, and when she raised her hands, the remaining slaves fell. Now more blood than Dhaune had ever seen floated overhead, and with its power combined with hers, Xana focused on the ever weakening Veil.

It caused all five of them great pain. One of the magicians died, and Xana fell closer to the ground. But the drow persisted, and eventually their repeated strikes to the Veil sundered it, creating a vile purple and red tear in the sky that could be seen even in Carthage. Xana fell, exhausted. But now they looked up to admire their handiwork, and they watched in excitement as spirits leaked through.

Dhaune, on the other hand, seemed apprehensive. "Matron Mother, what did you do? This will be a blight on all of Mediterra!" She argued.

Xana stood shakily. "Don't you question me, girl!" She pointed to the tear in the Veil. "With that tear in the Veil, we can control hundreds of zombies! Imagine how the world will quake in fear when Xana Kenval strikes with the force of a thousand necromancers!"

Dhaune seemed frightened, but she bowed. "As you desire, Matron Mother."

Xana remained stoic. She turned away. "The age of darkness has finally begun!"

 

The Heroes were enjoying dinner when they heard loud claps of thunder, though no clouds painted the nighttime sky. They looked up into the sky, Aelita grabbing onto Jeremie's shoulder as if frightened. The Heroes stood, and only moments later were they forced back from a push they could not see. A hole appeared in the sky, and at first they thought they were the auroras. But no, these lights were malevolent, and even from this distance, its malice was obvious. "What is that?" Ulrich shouted over the sound of thunder.

"Someone ripped a hole in the Veil!" Laura shouted back. "Who would be so foolish?"

"I think you already know!" Jeremie shouted. "Xana." In the distance, to the northeast, where the dungeon had been, they saw a dragon dig itself out of the sand. At first it appeared to be a rust dragon, its scales rusty and its horns gold, but then it started to decay before it flew off, roaring. Jeremie ordered the Heroes to pack up camp, and while they scrambled to move, the Wise Man took one last look at the tear. He narrowed his eyes, and he heard the sound of moving sand.

Yumi grabbed his shoulder. "We have to move, or we'll be dealing with a zombie apocalypse!"

Laura shivered. "Where can we run to? Even if we defeat these zombies, even if we make it to Replika, we'll never outrun them!"

Aelita shook her head. "One day, we will have to repair the tear in the Veil."

Odd rolled his eyes. "That's not going to involve sewing, is it?"

Jeremie ordered them to stop talking and to get inside the aravel. Most obliged, but Aelita joined him on top of it as he grabbed the reins on Rorkal's bridle. He ordered her to, firstly be careful, and secondly to take down any of the undead that rose because of the tear.

She agreed, climbing on top of the aravel. She scanned her surroundings, first pulling up a boulder to strike a skeleton that rose up from the sand. Its bones scattered, and she froze the walking corpse of someone who looked like a dwarven merchant. Jeremie shouted for her, and she turned. A group of zombies had risen and were waiting for them on the path. The Outcast froze them in a block of ice, shattering them with a boulder before Rorkal could even have a chance to slow. The aravel rocked suddenly, knocking her off her feet.

A rotting corpse climbed over the edge, its skin gross and peeling. It reached for her foot, and she curled up her legs before sending several thousand volts towards the zombie. Shakily she stood as it fell, and she looked behind her. Four zombies had risen, and while she prepared to kill them again, fire engulfed them. Laura climbed out of the aravel and joined Aelita. "You take the ones in front of us and to the side. I'll take the rest."

"Did you study ways to repel the undead?" Aelita asked, conjuring vines that crushed a newly dead corpse.

Laura furrowed her brows. "Not while on a speeding aravel!" She shouted. She created a whip of fire and snapped it at the zombies on the left of the aravel. Aelita shook her head, but she dropped it. For the moment, they put aside their differences and rivalry to protect the aravel. In the distance, they could see a growing grey cloud, obscuring the horizon with a cold blizzard that they would soon be treading through.

—AUTUMN ENDS—


	31. Book 3: Winter

Book 3: Winter

Episode 1: Replika

7th of Cassus

 

Replika was not half as beautiful as Lyoko. Even during the drought, Lyoko's beauty had shone through in its high peaks that scraped the very sky to its golden sand in the Ravenbow Canyon to its cold rushing rivers. Replika had suffered during the rebellion, and the blizzard had taken everyone by surprise. The Heroes were now freezing, so the first thing they did was buy warmer clothes—gloves, coats, scarves as well as blankets for both themselves and Rorkal. Jeremie sold the rings to a merchant; neither he nor Laura wished to be reminded of the engagement any more than they had to be.

Laura wove her fingers through her hair, turning it brown with illusion magic. She hoped this would be enough to prevent the residents from recognizing her as she went into the mayor's home to offer to draw wards. The wards would protect the village from the undead, since the tear in the Veil showed no signs of closing. She had drawn the wards inside and on the side of the aravel, as well as carving them into wooden pendants the Heroes now wore under their clothes.

Jeremie and Ulrich spoke quietly outside of the market, occasionally glancing towards the mayor's home nervously, fearful that Laura would be discovered. Jeremie caught sight of the other Heroes not too far away, waiting for the Fair to emerge. At this distance, Jeremie spotted Aelita's bare feet. He shook his head with a smile. She was stubborn, of that he was sure. In hopes he could change her mind though, he bought her a pair of boots lined with fur.

Laura appeared not long after, and she drew wards on the buildings that marked the outside of the town. Hopefully, those would be enough to keep out the zombies, but she had already warned the mayor of the dangers.

In return for protecting the town, the mayor had offered a small amount of gold and, at Jeremie's request, a map of Replika. Based on that map, the fastest route to Cortex would be on the Imperial Highway, but it would be crawling with soldiers. He looked over to Laura, knowing she would not want to continuously keep up her illusions. There appeared to be a secondary path that cut through the Adahlen Woods. He consulted Odd, but the Scout claimed he had not travelled any way other than the Highway, and he could not say for sure if the path truly led to Cortex.

With hope in his heart, he asked Aelita, remembering she had been in Replika for some time before. She recognized the name of the forest, and strangely it seemed to bother her. "Do you know what Adahlen means? It means 'forest'! We're going to travel through the Forest Woods!" She shook her head. "By the blood of the Creation Father! Why do humans do silly things like name people and places in different languages?"

Laughing, he suggested, "Maybe it makes us feel more cultured." Redirecting, he asked, "Do you know if this path leads to Cortex?"

She shook her head. "No, I've never been to Cortex." She shrugged. "Sorry."

"I guess we'll have to hope for the best." Jeremie said, and he took a deep breath in. "Oh, before I forget, I bought these for you at the market." He pulled the boots from his backpack, and handed them to her.

At first, she seemed confused. "Boots? You're giving me boots?" She asked. "Jeremie, I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't normally wear shoes. I can't see as well. Like you without your glasses, remember?"

He sighed, prepared for this. "I know, but if you aren't in contact with the earth, you wouldn't be able to see as well anyway, right?"

"Well, yes… but—" She was interrupted.

"With the blizzard, you won't be connected to the earth anyway. Do you really want to get frostbite on your feet?" He asked.

"I'm used to the cold. Actually, I like the feeling of being a little chilly."

"I know you do, but it's going to be a lot colder than 'a little chilly.'" He frowned. "Have you ever seen frostbite? If it goes untreated, your feet could simply fall off, or have to be amputated if they get infected."

She looked away for a moment. "One of the slaves at Arak-Muna was frostbitten on his hand. They killed him, rather than treat it."

Jeremie could say nothing for a while. "We wouldn't kill you if you were frostbitten, but it could be very dangerous." He said. "Please? It would mean a lot to me."

She sighed and took them from him. "I'll consider it."

"That's all I ask."

 

8th of Cassus

The Adahlen Woods were as cheery as the rest of Replika. The bare branches hung ominously, and rotting corpses were strung up for passersby to observe. The path was covered in snow since few people travelled that way after the Highway was built. The group had camped outside it the night before, unwilling to travel within and camp there.

They packed up camp, depressed at the idea of more snow to trek through. Aelita, who had apparently considered Jeremie's gift, had pulled on the boots he'd bought for her. "I'm wearing the boots. Are you happy?" She asked, sounding short tempered even though it was laced with obvious humor.

He wore a straight face. "Appeased."

Once everyone was packed up and dressed warmly the Heroes began their walk through the woods. The bare branches created sharp shadows on the snow, and the wind blew the icy crystals from their high perches into their faces. Every now and them, thunder would clap far away, reminding them that the Veil was torn.

Laura started shivering. "I sense a dark presence in these woods."

Aelita nodded. "I feel it too. But it doesn't feel like a spirit, or a walking corpse."

They kept their hands on their weapons, prepared for a fight. However, they walked for half an hour more without an attack. Laura and Aelita still seemed on edge, and as such the others were uncomfortable. Whenever Aelita and Laura were in agreement, calamity followed.

Odd suddenly drew an arrow and fired it at a nearby tree, though it bounced back, dispelling an illusion. A dark elf crouched in the branches, dressed completely in black, the symbol of House Kenval on his armor and a red piece of cloth masked the lower half of his face. He jumped down from the tree and drew his massive sword. With one hand he held it over his head, shouting, "Ar tu na'lin emma mi!"

Several drow joined him, and the Heroes drew their weapons. Jeremie ordered the others into formation, with Ulrich and Yumi taking on the leader.

Odd jumped onto the aravel, climbing to its roof to take on opponents from a higher vantage point. Aelita moved closer to Jeremie, using the snow and ice around her as offense. Laura used fire, though she sent healing spells at Ulrich and Yumi when the drow struck them. Jeremie tried his best to keep the drow away from the magician girls.

Ulrich ducked under the swipe, sending a sweeping kick at the drow's leg. The dark elf swiveled on his heel, trying his best to slice Yumi in half, though he only managed to slice through her obi and create a small cut on her abdomen. The cut healed magically, and in her head the Colonist thanked Laura. Yumi struck the dark elf's face with her bo staff, knocking him backwards. She then forced one end into the snow, spinning on the staff to kick him into the tree. Ulrich surged forward and sliced at the dark elf's throat, but the blood rushed for only a second before it flowed back inside and closed up.

The drow recovered quickly and used the stall created by their repulsion to slice at them. They jumped back just in time to keep from being cut in two. Aelita saw this and froze his feet in blocks of ice in an attempt to stall him. However, all it took was a single swing to shatter it. It was however, enough time for Yumi and Ulrich to recover from the sloppy dodge.

Sensing trouble, Jeremie helped the two girls with the rest of the drow soldiers. He directed Aelita to use her mastery of ice and earth to lead the soldiers along. Meanwhile Laura prepared fire and incinerated the drow when they stepped into her pre-determined line of fire. It worked very well, allowing the two magician girls to eliminate all the remaining, ordinary, drow soldiers and giving the Heroes the chance to focus all of their might on their leader.

Ulrich moved to slice at his arm while Yumi threw one of her Tessen fans, but he nimbly sidestepped both. The drow moved closer to Jeremie, who attempted to block his blow with his sword—they'd never found Barricade when he'd dropped it into the canyon. The drow's Zweihänder broke Jeremie's sword, but it did give the Wise Man enough time to jump out of the way. He sighed at the broken blade and moved quickly as the drow lunged at him again. Odd reached into a sack and threw Jeremie the gauntlet he and Aelita had found in the elvhen ruin.

Odd fired another arrow, but the drow caught it, intimidatingly snapping the arrow. Odd rapidly fired a series of arrows, but they missed as the dark elf dodged them. It gave Yumi enough time to trip him, but before Ulrich could jump in and finish him off, the dark elf pulled down the red cloth that had masked his face. Yumi and Ulrich gasped and jumped back.

Odd didn't waste time with shock and quickly jumped off the aravel, landing on William just as he started to pick himself up. Jeremie kicked away the drow's Zweihänder and the Heroes gathered around the pinned enemy. Laura almost cried. "Minerva's mercy, William! You're alive!" She called out. She tried to hug the dark elf, but Odd, who had gotten off of William and was now standing near his prone form, held her back.

"Laura, use your head. If this were really William, would he have attacked us? William was our friend!" Odd said, motioning to the drow before them. "If I had to guess, this is a clone or a doppelganger that Xana sent after us to trick us."

The tears in Laura's eyes began to leak down her face. "But what if it is William? We have a duty to help him, because he is our friend!"

The group looked at Jeremie. The Wise Man closed his eyes and pictured William's red eyes in his mind. At first the only thing he saw was darkness, but soon his mind filled with fire and splitting pain, but undeniably he saw the others standing above his vision. He forced his eyes open, and held his head in his hand. "That is William, but something is wrong." Jeremie confirmed. "I don't even know if he recognizes us."

"I remember you," William hissed, his voice distorted. He jumped up, kicking Laura's gut. The Fair keeled over, coughing. The Heroes reached for their weapons, but William was faster, calling his sword back to his hand with a cloud of darkness. He spun, though the teenagers jumped back to avoid the slice. The dark elf moved to decapitate Laura, but Jeremie stabbed the fallen Vanguard in the gut with the gauntlet's retractable blade. William staggered back, holding his gut. He growled like a dog, falling into the earth like a cloud of black dust. The dust fled their presence quickly, headed back in the direction of Lyoko.

Yumi helped Laura to her feet. "Are you alright, Princess?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Or I will be." She glared at Jeremie. "You said that he was dead!"

Jeremie took a defensive position. "I thought he was! I couldn't contact him at all. He was at least as good as dead."

Odd shuddered. "Xana must've ordered Dhaune to kidnap him." He looked to the ground. "Gods only know what happened to him after he disappeared."

"Or maybe William was always working with Xana. We were quick to point Yumi out as a conspirator, but William was just as inviting to her." Ulrich accused.

"That can't be true, lethallin," Aelita shook her head. "William was a victim, too. I cannot believe he would switch sides, or deceive us."

"I'm with Aelita on this one." Jeremie folded his arms. "I think he was likely tortured and brainwashed. That he remembers us at all means that he was told to view us as hostiles. Likely false ideas were planted in his head, probably to convince him that we're his enemy."

"What do we do now?" Yumi asked. "Is there any way to get the old William back?"

Jeremie shook his head. "I don't know. I'll read up on it, see what I can't dig up on brainwashing. In the meantime, we should be more careful. Dhaune studied us long enough to get some of our secrets, but we never stopped trusting William." He looked to his books, including a journal he'd kept secretly since Heartwood. If William was working with Xana, willingly or not, everything would have to be kept secret. They could no longer say where they were headed, and if they had to, they'd travel under cover of darkness. "We should keep moving if we want to get out of the woods before the sun sets." The group agreed, but no idle chatter filled the air as they walked.


	32. Winter 2

Episode 2: Blizzard

14th of Cassus

 

Jeremie woke all of the other Heroes early that morning. "The snow is starting to pick up," He told each of them, "and we don't want to be sleeping when it gets to be too cold." They a quick breakfast then packed up camp, surprised by how much snow had collected in the short span. Aelita used her magic to dig out the aravel, and had to keep several paces in front of it to keep it from getting stuck in the frozen ice. It was soon obvious, however, that the road was gone, covered by snow.

Any landmarks had also been covered in snow, and as the winds began to pick up, it was harder to see. The Heroes pulled up their hoods, and Yumi wrapped many blankets around Rorkal to keep him warm as the snow picked up in speed. Aelita tried her best to keep the ice away, with Laura clearing the path in her place, but after a few hours she had tired, and the winds overpowered her magic. Odd pulled his bear skin hood closer to his face. "Damn, this place is colder than Jeremie's shoulder on a good day." He shouted over the whipping wind.

"Go fuck yourself, Odd!" Jeremie shouted back, clearly not in the mood.

Unbothered, the Scout shouted, "I'd rather fuck your cousin!"

Jeremie groaned, inhaling flakes of ice as he did so. He started coughing, dropping the map. He cursed and chased after it. The wind offered no assistance, and while it slowed him down, the parchment flew further away until it was out of sight. Groaning, Jeremie tore at his hair. "The map is gone. We're hopelessly lost!" He screamed, his aggravated voice piercing the winds.

"Replika is only half the size of Lyoko. I'm sure we'll run into someone out here." Yumi encouraged him.

"That's assuming we don't freeze to death out here before then." Laura muttered.

Ulrich shook his head. "It could take days to find our way in this snow." He motioned to Aelita. "Can you make Murray do that thing? That beam of light that pointed us to the dungeon?"

Aelita hesitated. "I don't know. He's only done that once." She looked to the others, knowing that, while she could probably survive longer in the cold than any of them, it would only be a matter of hours before they were unable to move from exhaustion. She opened her palm and cut it with her dagger, and Erahalam pierced her stomach. She pulled the staff out, and then drove the blade into the snow. "We need to find shelter to wait out the blizzard. Can you help us?"

There came a glow to Murray's eye sockets, almost argumentative. Aelita told him flatly she would not tolerate shenanigans, and a red light shone to what they had believed to be the south. "But Cortex is north of here." Jeremie argued.

Laura placed her head in her hand. "Please do not tell me that you're going to start talking to sticks now."

The light faded, and Erahalam drove itself back into Aelita's chest. Having no other way to go, they began to head in the direction Murray had indicated. However, as they walked, the forest around them grew denser, and the blizzard grew steadily more barbaric. Ice ripped at them through their coats, clawing at their faces like wolves. Their movement slowed, and the fires of hope started to dim.

Odd tilted his head, as if he'd heard something. "Did any of you hear that?"

They listened, and through the snowy fog they saw a figure. She stood not much taller than Aelita, and she was dressed in white. She watched them for a long time, undeterred by the snow and unmoved by their cries for help. She was joined by two others, also in white, and then by four more. Now eight figures stood intimidatingly still despite the cold snow. "They look elven. Some of yours?" Laura asked Aelita.

"There are a lot of clans, you know. We don't all know each other." Aelita said. She pulled her hood closer and walked up to the elves. "Ir abelas. Have we wandered too close to your camp?" She asked.

The elf that had appeared first looked nervously at her peers, and then she stepped forward. "You could say that," She said quietly. "Lethallan, who are these shemlen you travel with?"

Aelita looked over her shoulder. "These are my friends." Aelita proceeded to introduce them, and then smiled at the elf. "My name is Aelita Durgenbora. We are looking for shelter from the storm. If you could point us towards a cave, or a settlement, we would be ever so grateful."

The elf looked back to her peers. "Are you with these 'friends' willingly, or are you their slave?"

"I am here willingly." When the elf seemed skeptical, she added, "I used to be a slave, but I escaped long before these people. They had nothing to do with my enslavement." Aelita almost mentioned that Laura had allowed her father to permit it, but she held her tongue.

This elf still seemed skeptical, and hoping to smooth the process, Jeremie joined Aelita, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Andaran atish'an. Na nuvenin dara ma nuvenin."

The elf seemed unamused at first, but her frown broke. "Your accent is terrible. And you speak it through your nose." As if to add insult to injury, she pointed to her nose. Jeremie groaned, and she laughed. "My name is Nim Sarethari. I can bring you to a safe place, but lethallan, you must convince your friends to tie their weapons into their sheaths, and any weapons that cannot be sheathed must be given to us." Sighing, she admitted, "It isn't that we do not trust you, simply that we cannot trust shemlen."

Aelita looked at Jeremie, and he nodded. He gave the sword-gauntlet to one of Nim's peers, and reluctantly, Laura did the same with her wand. Yumi surrendered her Tessen fans and her kunai. Ulrich, Odd and Yumi had the elves tie their weapons into the sheaths, and when Nim seemed satisfied, she ordered them to pull out. Then, she offered blankets to the teenagers and Rorkal.

Nim led the Heroes further into the forest with every hour. Now, they grew closer to a mountain, and there was still no shelter in sight. Odd, concerned that Nim was leading them to their deaths, reached out to grab her. "Nim, wait." He said, making the mistake of reaching out with his clawed gauntlet. Nim spun around and jabbed her fingers in Odd's pressure points, causing his arm to go limp. He was unable to move it, and he slapped it. Realizing that Odd wasn't hostile, Nim covered her mouth with her hands—or that is what she appeared to do; the only part of her body not covered in thick white cloth were her eyes. Odd looked up, and flatly he said, "You'll have to forgive me; this is a first for me. I don't usually have trouble getting it up."

Nim laughed. "Okay, you're cute. But you aren't that cute, flat-ear." She turned and kept walking.

Odd seemed confused, and embarrassed, Aelita explained it was a derogatory term for a half-elf, similar to 'knife ear' for elves and 'shem' for humans. He laughed it off, and Aelita shook her head with a half-smile.

Nim led them to a clearing, though this clearing was large enough to hold a large city, and then she motioned to one of her peers. He summoned a small green light and gently set it free, but instead of floating into oblivion, it struck a solid surface. An invisibility illusion dispelled, and a tall gate built of wooden pikes guarded entrance. Aelita's eyes widened as she realized that Nim had led them to an elvhen city.

The gate opened, and Nim waved them inside. The first thing they noticed was how warm it was; far too hot for their coats. The Heroes removed their coats. Nim smiled and removed her white hood, revealing curly strawberry red hair. "Welcome to Halamshiral!"

Jeremie looked at Aelita as she absorbed the sights, though even he had to admit, he'd never seen anything like it. Darkness came from the tree branches overhead. They towered higher than any human building Jeremie had ever seen. Homes were built out of the twisted trees, though some of the fancier buildings were in the back of the city, whether carved into the mountain's face or built out of stone. This seemed to be the market district, and smells filled their noses. Overgrown mushrooms served as tables and chairs, while crystals that were twice Jeremie's size lit the dirt road. The crystals gave off light, mostly dim shades of green and blue, though some crystals were pink, white and yellow. Everything around him was natural and relied on magic long since thought extinct. Aelita looked as though she was about to faint.

Laura looked to Nim, her face twisted up in confusion. "I thought Halamshiral was destroyed during the Surface Wars, and Arlathan was the only remaining stronghold."

Nim looked to Laura. "Halamshiral was destroyed then. But that was a century ago; we've rebuilt."

"Why haven't you told anyone of this? Don't you want to communicate with Arlathan?" Yumi asked.

"Of course we would. But it is dangerous for us to do so. Arlathan has too many supporters of insurrection. With our numbers bolstered, we would surely engage Lyoko in war, where we would be decimated." Nim explained.

"After Xana is defeated, you may want to talk to Arlathan. Lyoko will be very weak." Ulrich suggested, with Laura shooting him a glare that sent lava down his spine.

Nim looked to Ulrich, and in that moment she saw Aelita. She hadn't been paying attention, and now Nim could see who she looked like. "Aelita," She said, ignoring the Mercenary's suggestion, "Aelita, you must go see the High Council. There is someone there who will want to meet you."

Aelita turned, reluctantly tearing her gaze away from the marvelous city, and asked, "Who would that be?"

Nim hesitated. "My aunt, the Matron Mother of House Sarethari." She motioned over her shoulder, down the dirt road. "Just go down this road. The High Council meets in the Destruction Wing of the Chantry. You'll know it when you see it. We'll take your things to the estate." With almost sisterly affection, she added, "Stay out of trouble! I'll see you tonight." She grabbed Rorkal's bridle and led him down a side path.

Jeremie looked at Aelita. "So they're just going to leave us to ourselves in a city known for hating humans?"

"You're already inside the city. The elves here may not like your presence, but if Nim belongs to a powerful family, they won't challenge her, so long as we behave." Aelita shot a look at Laura, and then carried that look to Odd. She looked at the bag where she had stored the ribbon given to her by Asha'bellanar Yolanda. She pulled the ribbon out and started down the dirt road. "I'm going to the chantry. The rest of you are free to explore the city, if you'd like, or you could go to the estate."

Jeremie ran after Aelita, smiling as he caught up with her. She smiled back. They walked together towards the elvhen chantry, enjoying the scenery. Aelita pointed to a large building, identifying it as a library. She claimed many scrolls must've been stored there, or at least the ones that survived the destruction of the original Halamshiral, and an Eluvian. Jeremie smiled at her, suggesting they visit later.

The chatted all the way, eventually coming to a building. There were two reliefs carved into it, each to the inside of a wooden door. The first was of an elvhen man, holding a lush forest in his hands. From his fingers hung vines and moss, as well as flowers. On his shoulder rested a noble-looking eagle, a rose in its claw. Knowing what he did about the elvhen culture, he assumed this was a statue of the Creation Father. The second was of a woman holding decaying city, from her fingers skeletons that appeared to be dancing. On her shoulder was a spider, weaving a web on the side of her face and shoulder. He assumed that she was the Destruction Mother.

Aelita motioned towards the door to the side of the Destructor statue. Jeremie politely pulled it open for her, and she smiled at him before entering. Inside were a group of elves, apparently discussing issues in Halamshiral. "Aneth ara?" Aelita announced herself. "Nim Sarethari told me to come here? She told me to speak to her aunt."

Suddenly, glass shattered. A woman on the opposite side of the room seemed to falter, and Aelita looked at her strangely. Jeremie looked at this woman too, and he saw what Aelita likely didn't. This woman was not a carbon copy of Aelita—no, she was older and taller, age taking a toll on her face. Grey hairs had stained her pink hair, which was long and sort of wavy. Her eyes were blue, like a clear sky, and their noses were different. But their face shape, their hair color, the way this elven woman's mouth hung in surprise—Jeremie was confident that Nim had asked Aelita to meet her birth mother.


	33. Winter 3

Episode 3: The Changeling's Mother

12th of Matrinalis, 4:86 East

 

Anthea covered the chain sickle with a white blanket. Her father wished her a pleasant walk, and told her to be careful, as activity near Bastium had been rumored to have increased. Anthea promised to be careful, and she left the gates. In those days elves were always allowed in, though few were allowed out. The gates weren't hidden to those who had earned their vallaslin, regardless of their magical prowess—luckily for Anthea. She was one of the Blind, and could not use magic. Her vallaslin marked her as a true da'len elvhenan, and the stylized magenta marking on her forehead—her brother had claimed it looked like a halla skull, and she agreed for the most part—meant atisha, or peace.

The scion of the Sarethari family sat in the clearing, enjoying the summer sun. She stretched out, picking a flower and plucking off the petals idly. She folded her legs and opened up her lunch, beginning to eat in the sun. She heard a twig snap in the forest, and Anthea jumped up. An elven man stumbled out of the forest, knocking her into the dirt. Angrily, she stood and began to shout, but she felt terrible about it when she saw how he flinched.

He was a rather handsome man, though perhaps a few years older than her. His hair had grown long, and his eyes were as green as the grass they stood on. But as she not-so-subtly ogled him, she saw the obvious signs that something was wrong. He cowered in her presence, and Anthea could see scars on his arms and legs. He was bleeding from open wounds on his back. Anthea pulled out her blanket and dabbed the wounds. While she did her best to treat him, she offered him her lunch, which he devoured greedily. "How did you find this place?" Anthea asked, moving his hair out of the way. She saw wounds left by a life of slavery, though they'd long since healed over. A lump gathered in her throat.

"I… don't even know where I am, miss." The man said. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"This is Halamshiral, or at least we're nearby it. My name is Anthea Sarethari, scion of the House. We're very prominent." Anthea explained. "Who are you?"

The man hesitated. "I'm Waldo. Of…" He lowered his eyes in shame, "of no one."

Anthea was about to ask him if he had any family when she saw two men stumble through the bushes. Waldo scurried away, and she caught his foot. While he scrambled fearfully to his feet, she grabbed the chain sickle from her basket and began to spin it. "If you slavers want him, you'll have to go through me!" Anthea shouted.

The two men looked at one another and shared a grunt then one nodded. The taller one stepped forward, and a simple flick of Anthea's wrist sent her weapon straight at his head. He reached out to catch the chain but missed and she struck him with the weight, the pick hitting his eye. She pulled back on it, pulling him forward and sending him to the ground holding his head and screaming. The man's partner glared at her and smiled when she dropped the handle of her weapon.

He charged her. Anthea stepped to the side at the last second, grabbed the hilt of his sword and twirled in a full circle to draw it from its sheath. He stopped running and whirled around, his hand reaching down to the empty scabbard. Surprised, he looked to find that his opponent in a threatening position, daring to use his own sword against him. Angry, the slaver began to summon a complex spell and, seeing this, Anthea charged forward, stabbing him through his leather armor.

She kicked him and flipped her hair back. Waldo stood, in awe of her. Anthea smiled at him, and offered him her hand. "If you have nowhere else to go, I will take you home with me."

Waldo started to reach out, but he hesitated. "Will your family mind?"

"It'll be easier to beg for forgiveness than ask permission." She answered, and he smiled back at her. Carefully, Waldo took Anthea's hand.

As they walked back towards the city, he sheepishly asked, "Why did you stand up for me?"

She thought about it for a moment, and smiled as she looked up at him. "I could not stand idle while those men dragged you back to Creator-knows-what." With a wink, she added, "Besides, slavery is not the life for a handsome man like yourself." He laughed nervously, as if he didn't know how to respond.

 

14th of Cassus, 5:08 Guardian

It had been twenty-two years since Anthea had met Waldo of No One, who later became Waldo Sarethari, her husband. Sixteen years had passed since Anthea had given birth to the young woman who stood before her now. She remembered how reluctant she'd been when the elves in black arrived, even though she knew that becoming a changeling was the only way. She remembered how heartbroken she'd been when they returned with the human baby, and she thought now about the couple she'd given the human to. They were blacksmiths, and they'd never been able to conceive. At least something good had come of that night.

But her child was home. And she knew that this was her child; she wore that same look of confusion her father had worn before he'd passed. She had her father's eyes and his nose, but the way her face was shaped, the way her lips were shaped, the color of her hair—this was her daughter. "I… oh, by the Creation Father! My prayers have been answered!"

 

1st of Verimensis, 4:87 East

Anthea knocked on the door to Waldo's laboratory. He was working on an elven centurion, like a golem but larger and made of mithril and oricalcum. He went back and forth between the construct and his designs, cursing. "I can't get it to work." Waldo complained when he caught sight of Anthea. "Something must be wrong with my plans. I don't know what it is, though."

"Happy New Year!" She said, offering him a special brew of ale with juniper berries in it. He shook his head and took the ale. "You're working far too hard. Come on, we could go for a walk around the city. Won't that be fun?"

"Anthea, I'm busy." Waldo said, pouring over his volumes. It had taken a long time, but Anthea had finally taught him to read, and he couldn't get enough. "If my predictions are correct, we are but a short time away from the reawakening of Xana Kenval, and she will build her constructs. We must find a way to protect ourselves."

Anthea sighed. "The Shaman claims that Xana will not return until the Guardians rise. There's no proof to say that it will be in our lifespan." She said. Waldo opened his mouth to argue, and Anthea stopped him with a kiss. He pulled her closer, and they shared the moment. When they broke, the amorous look on his face faded quickly into shame, and he hid his face behind his long brown hair. Anthea looked at him in confusion, and she touched his shoulder. "Waldo? What's wrong, ma sa'lath?"

"You are a noblewoman…" He said with his voice coated in embarrassment.

Anthea seemed confused. "I don't understand your point."

"You're also a beautiful woman, Sarethari. Has no one else caught your eye?" He asked as he shifted his head just enough to see her.

She laughed. "Do you see anyone else here?"

"I'm an escaped slave, living off the generosity of your family. Neither of those things bother you?"

"I am not without faults." She said. He looked away. "Waldo…" She whispered. He refused to look at her, and playfully she slid under the space created where he gripped the table. Anthea laughed at his flustered expression, and quickly she stole another kiss.

He laughed, his voice low. "I fooled you, did I?" He asked, and while she recoiled in surprise, he stole a kiss from her. "Happy New Year."

 

14th of Cassus, 5:08 Guardian

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are." Anthea's daughter said, obviously confused. She coughed a little, and her cheeks were pale, but otherwise she seemed fine. When Anthea found herself unable to speak, she offered, "My name is Aelita Durgenbora, and this is Jeremie Belpois. Are… you Matron Mother Anthea Sarethari?"

"Oh, da'len." Anthea said quietly. She took the girl's hands and whispered, "I'm your mother."

The girl's eyes widened, and she recoiled. The human next to her grabbed her shoulders so that she could steady herself. Anthea waited with bated breath for elation to enter her daughter's eyes but as time went on there was nothing. No recognition, no glee, not even confusion. But when emotion did come, it broke her heart, for it was anger. "My mother?" She repeated, anger in her voice. "You abandoned me! Why would you do that?"

Anthea opened her mouth to explain. She closed it again. "Aelita…"

Aelita's eyes filled with hot, angry tears. "Why did you give me up?"

"That's kind of a long story."

 

8th of Solis, 4:90 East

Waldo and Anthea had been married for just over a year. Anthea was now the leader of the Sarethari family, making her one of the most important people in Halamshiral. Waldo, on the other hand, was obsessed with his centurion. He'd been working on it for years, and yet it refused to move. A theory began to circle in his mind when he came across a book that mentioned a spirit named Mehormanda. She was one of the few spirits the elves considered wholly evil, and long ago, after the destruction of Ravenbow, they trapped her in an Eluvian. She was associated with hunger and desire, and when Yolanda entered Uthenera, she asked that she be charged with making sure no one unworthy removed it. Waldo believed that he could use Mehormanda—he, like Anthea, was Blind, and this probably made him overconfident.

Anthea and Waldo now stood in Yolanda's tomb. Waldo examined the Eluvian, and Anthea helped Yolanda out of her tomb. She seemed confused, but she seemed to gather herself as her youth returned. She saw Waldo looking at the Eluvian and panicked. "Nae! Nae! Ga rahn m'eluvian! Ga rahn!"

Waldo seemed surprised, and Anthea tried to calm her down. "Atisha, Asha'bellanar. Please be still."

Yolanda pointed at Anthea's husband. "He knows not what he does!" She accused.

Waldo folded his arms. "I've studied her ways for years! I know what to do!"

Anthea touched Yolanda's shoulder. "We need the Mehormanda's Eluvian, Asha'bellanar. There is great darkness on the horizon, and she holds the secret to getting our centurion to work."

Yolanda narrowed her eyes. "I cannot stop you, da'len. But be warned; Mehormanda, if released, will not stop until she finds her brother Darciflamius. If they were to find each other, any darkness you foresee in the future shall pale in comparison. Her brother destroyed Ravenbow, and with them both free, they will seek revenge on us."

Waldo rolled his eyes. "You're an old hag who talks too much, aren't you?"

"And you are a man with more intelligence than wisdom to use it." Yolanda spat.

 

17th of Molioris, 4:91 East

The door opened, and Waldo turned as three-year-old Nim helped her aunt carry her uncle's lunch to him. Anthea was now heavy with a child, and Waldo walked down from his position next to the Eluvian to greet his niece, his wife and his unborn child. Waldo spoke in hushed tones to the baby, and Anthea rolled her eyes with a smirk. As if to distract him, she asked, "Do you think the snow outside is ever going to melt?"

Waldo laughed. "I personally think the Eahariel family is just keeping the snow around for their own amusement." He took a bite out of the meat and then walked closer to the mirror. Anthea asked Nim to leave, and she walked closer to her husband. "I'm so close to being able to summon Mehormanda."

"I've been thinking, ma sa'lath, maybe we shouldn't summon her." Anthea said. "At least, not right now. After all, our first child is to be born soon. The Shaman says that it can't be more than a few days before I go into labor."

Waldo turned and took his wife's hands. "And I will be right by your side when you do." He twisted her hair around his fingers. "But for right now, I am too far along in my work to stop." Anthea sighed, but she understood. She watched as Waldo made minor adjustments to the Eluvian, and she jumped when she saw something move inside of it. Waldo did the opposite—he moved closer. "Did you see that? Something moved inside of the mirror."

"Get away from it, Waldo." Anthea said firmly, taking a few steps back.

"Hold on a second, I just want to see what it is." He denied. Anthea moved closer to her husband, as if her presence would shelter him. Waldo touched the glass, and a red ripple spread out from his touch. He slid his fingers, and it looked like he was touching water. "I can see… a city… underground?" He said, looking at Anthea. She looked nervously back at him before they both returned their attention to the Eluvian. A figure shot across the glass, and a pair of red eyes focused on her husband. "Help! It saw me! I can't look away!"

The figure charged the glass, and red light filled the room. Anthea was knocked back into the wall, but even as the light faded, she could not see him or Mehormanda's Eluvian, only the place where they had stood. She slowly began to lose consciousness.

 

18th of Molioris

Anthea had awoken around midnight, and she was surrounded by her family and the Shaman. Not long later, she went into labor, though even the Shaman had said this was early—not very early but concerning nevertheless—and now, as night began to fall again and Anthea held her daughter in her quaking hands, she knew something was wrong.

The baby would not cry, nor would she open her eyes. She merely lay still, occasionally shivering as if she were cold. The Shaman told Anthea that Mehormanda had not escaped her Eluvian, but she had left a powerful curse, and it appeared to be affecting everyone except the newly widowed mother. Anthea had not been affected because she'd been pregnant—her child had absorbed the blow for her. However, the curse was like a miasma; the longer the baby was exposed to it, the more likely she would perish.

Anthea now sang to her daughter, for she could do nothing else for her.

"Melava inan enansal  
Ir su aravel tu elvaral  
U na emma abelas  
In elgar sa vir mana  
In tu setheneran  
Din emma na.

Lath sulevin  
Lath aravel ena arla vent u vir mahvir  
Melana'nehn  
Enasal ir sa lethallin."

The elves dressed in black came, and Anthea cried as she handed them the only thing that could have brought her peace.

 

14th of Cassus, 5:08 Guardian

Jeremie listened with Aelita as her mother explained and he drew closer to the Outcast until they were standing shoulder to shoulder over the course of the story. It seemed to offer no comfort to Aelita who hung her head. Anthea stepped closer and reached out in an effort to hold her. She pulled herself away from her mother, and Jeremie stepped between them, looking at the elvhen noble apologetically. The Outcast took a single look more at her mother, and then left. Jeremie moved to follow her, but he stopped. "I'll speak to her. She'll listen to me." He reassured her. Anthea could only hope that he was right.

Jeremie chased after Aelita, finding her sitting on one of the mushroom chairs. He sat down across from her and for a long moment neither said anything. "How are you feeling?" He asked gently, grabbing one of her hands. He rubbed it with his thumb, and her eyes followed his arm until she met his.

"Why? Why did this happen?" She asked, blinking tears away from her eyes.

"I…" He began. But he could see the pain in her eyes—as much as Aelita loved her culture and wanted to be with the People, she had never wanted to meet her birth parents. He remembered the people who had raised her, and he understood. He understood not wanting to meet the people who abandoned their child to a life not unlike slavery. He started again "I don't know why it happened, Aelita. But I know that your mother did what she thought was best; and I know that she wants to get to know you."

Aelita furrowed her brows. "I don't want to get to know her! She sent me to live with those… those horrible people!" She gripped his hand harder. "Edna would still be alive if I hadn't been switched! So would the rest of the clan, and Murray!"

"And you wouldn't know them," Jeremie argued, "and we never would have met either."

Aelita sighed. "I don't know if that was a good thing. Death and evil seem to follow me wherever I go." She started coughing, more violently than before, and Jeremie looked at her in concern. "I'm fine. Really."

There was silence for a moment. "You know, Aelita…" Jeremie said, his face serious, "…if I had the chance, I would do anything to see my mother again."

Aelita looked up, shocked. Suddenly she felt terrible; she'd denied her own mother while forgetting that Jeremie would never have the option to see his mother alive again. She hung her head in shame, and then she looked back up. Aelita stood, and she smiled weakly. "I suppose it wouldn't kill me to speak to her, would it?"

Jeremie smiled back. "No, I suppose it wouldn't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Anthea sings roughly translates as follows: “Time was once a blessing but long journeys are made longer when alone within. Take spirit from the long ago but do not dwell in lands no longer yours. Be certain in need, and the path will emerge to a home tomorrow and time will again be the joy it once was.”


	34. Winter 4

Episode 4: Tales of Halamshiral

15th of Cassus

 

The Heroes, excluding Aelita, sat around the table eating the breakfast prepared for them by servants of the Sarethari family. Jeremie had just finished informing the others that Aelita was Anthea's daughter, since the Outcast had been out late that night with her mother and had yet to return. As if on cue, Aelita walked in, obviously tired. Before Jeremie could ask her if she was feeling alright, Ulrich teased her affectionately, "So, milady Kitten, what is your first act as a noblewoman going to be?"

Aelita laughed weakly. "A noblewoman abandoned as a babe and raised by humans, thus having no claim to the title of scion?" She paused dramatically, "looking for work, probably."

Ulrich laughed. "Practicality is for peasants, milady. You must do something frivolous to celebrate your birthright."

"Such as…?"

"Go down to the marketplace and complain that there are no Nihonjin silks that match your eyes."

Aelita tilted her head slightly. "What if there is something that matches my eyes? What do I do then?"

"Claim that they're blatantly copying you and demand royalties," Ulrich announced. Chuckling, he explained, "A good noble always has a complaint ready, Kitten."

Jeremie watched the exchange with an amused smile and was about to open his mouth when Anthea greeted them warmly, politely asking that they remain in the city until the next day, even though the blizzard had cleared up. When asked why, she simply said that she had something for them that would be of equal value to all of the Heroes, but it was not yet ready. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to ask of you. The rest of the day is yours."

Laura looked to the Matron. "Will the High Council agree to support Lyoko in the war? We need as many allies as we can get."

Anthea thought for a moment. "If you were able to convince them that Xana Kenval has awoken, they might agree to support you. She is a worse threat to Elvhenan than even your invasion."

Laura thanked her, and the Heroes began to leave, leaving the dining room empty save for three. Jeremie rolled his eyes when Anthea told Aelita to go down to the elvhen chantry, frustrated that he'd been ignored again. Before she left, he caught her wrist and she stopped for him. "Are you feeling okay? You look really pale."

She smiled weakly. "I'll be fine, Jeremie. I'm just tired, and it's just a cough."

"Be careful, okay? I don't like it when you're alone." He said.

"I've been on my own for years. I'm used to it." She replied for what felt like the hundredth time.

He chuckled. "Believe it or not, that doesn't make me feel a whole lot better."

Aelita shook her head though she also smiled before she turned and walked away. Jeremie watched her go until he felt someone's eyes on him, and he turned to see that Anthea had not yet left the room. She seemed flustered for a moment, and she looked away. Jeremie waited for a moment to see if she was going to say anything but with her continued silence he finally looked away and left the room. However, wanting to be nearby when the others returned, he decided to explore the estate.

It was a rather large building in the wealthier part of Halamshiral. Stone walls were decorated by painted scenes, murals and banners. On one of the banners appeared to be the Sarethari family tree, detailing the family since before the first fall of Halamshiral during the Surface Wars. Near the bottom, the line appeared to have ended with Nim, but there were the beginnings of stitches that he could only assume to be Aelita's portrait. He started at it for a bit, wondering how much would be different, then shook off the thoughts and moved on.

He eventually came across a large wooden door, and when he tried to open it, he found it to be locked. He rushed until he found a pair of lock picks, and after an amount of time he would refuse to admit to later, he finally picked the lock. Inside was a small workshop, an elvhen construct standing like a man against the wall. Jeremie studied the construct for a while and then turned to the plans on the drawing table.

The runes scribbled on the pages were done hastily, like the chicken scratches of a madman. Jeremie could pick out a few words here and there, and he assumed that the annotation at the bottom marked the plans as Waldo Sarethari's design. Looking back at the construct, Jeremie picked up a few pages of the plans and began to compare them to the actual construct.

It appeared that Anthea had not allowed anyone into the room in sixteen years, as thick dust fell off when he held the plans up, and merely touching the parchment caused slight damage. Jeremie approached the construct and examined the mechanics. It appeared to be rather well-made, but before he could begin investigating Nim charged into the room with a look of wonder and excitement on her face. Jeremie sent her a friendly smile, but when she saw him, her smile vanished. "You're not… you're not him." She muttered with her voice high and child-like in comparison to the sophisticated accent she'd spoke in the day before.

"I'm… not him? Who is he?" Jeremie asked.

"Who are you?" Her voice had changed again, now as if she were trying to sound like an old man.

"Don't you remember?"

"Are you saying you don't know who you are?"

"Are you mocking me?"

"I don't know. Are you mocking me?"

"Is that a question or are you just copying me?"

"Would you know a question if it were asked?"

Jeremie had to stop. "I certainly hope so," He said with a smile, hoping to end the cycle.

Surprisingly, Nim became angry, and her voice returned to the mock-child. "NO! That is not a question! How are we supposed to play the questions game if you won't play by the rules?!"

Jeremie was taken aback. He hadn't realized that Nim wanted to play a game. Her mood had changed so suddenly, as if she went between a senile old man to an impatient child in a matter of seconds. He blinked. "The… questions game? How do we play?"

Nim smiled. "Don't you know that we're already playing?"

"So all I have to do is ask a question?"

"Do you want to play or not?"

"Should I answer that question?" Jeremie asked, and he returned to the construct. He found some parts of it had been torn out, and he examined them. It was simple enough to grasp the mechanics and determine where the pieces should fit and the workshop held all the tools he would need. So, ignoring the now silent Nim, he set about the repairs. He soon realized, however, that there would be no way to get the construct moving without a power source, something like the heart that was in a mortal body.

His mind floated to the crystals that the elves used to light the streets and he looked around the construct to see if the crystals he assumed powered it were nearby though he found nothing. He turned to ask Nim where the constructs power crystals had gone and found her wandering about the workshop, distracted by seemingly nothing. Concluding that she was likely sleepwalking, Jeremie considered grabbing her shoulder, but he'd read in the Book of Dreams that it was dangerous to do so.

Nim turned suddenly and grabbed his wrist. He jumped and she tightened her grip. "You're not him. What is a shem like you doing in Halamshiral?" She demanded.

"Nim, it's me. Jeremie? Jeremie Belpois, remember? You led me and my friends here, along with your cousin?" He tried to jog her memory.

"My… cousin?" Nim said. "They told me she was dead! They said the babe was dead along with him but I knew they were lying!"

"Who is he?!" Jeremie demanded, but she said nothing, only digging her nails into his wrist. He pulled against her, now frightened. He considered kicking her, but he knew that she was more skilled a fighter than he was—she'd disengaged Odd's arm within seconds of him making contact.

"Nim, drop him!" Anthea shouted, entering the workshop. Nim looked at her aunt, and while she wore a look of anger, she released Jeremie's wrist. Anthea walked over to her niece and held her shoulders. "Go find Papa, Nim. Ask him to take you for a walk outside of the city. You could use the air." Nim obeyed, and the Matron approached Jeremie. "Are you alright, Jeremie?"

He was shaking, unable to erase the memory of her eyes. Nim had blue eyes like her aunt, but there had been no emotion in them. "I… I think that I'll be alright." He said. "What was that about?"

Anthea sighed. "You were there when I explained to Aelita that because of the curse she had to be sent away? Nim was affected by the curse as well, but she was old enough that the symptoms didn't show until later on. Nim is not exactly what you would call… all there." She sat down on the floor, and Jeremie sat across from her. "She has episodes. Most of the time she is like you saw outside of the gates, and while outside the gates she shows no sign of the curse. But sometimes she loses her grip on reality. This can be nonviolent or aggressive but they can be stopped very easily by telling her to leave the city for some time. I'm sorry you had to see her that way."

Jeremie looked away. "Are there triggers? She bounced between characterizations so quickly…"

"I don't know. It is my brother's wish that we do not explore it, since admitting Nim has these episodes would show weakness to the other families in his eyes." Anthea sighed, and there was an awkward silence between the two. Suddenly she looked up. "Actually, Jeremie, I was hoping I might ask you something."

"What is it?"

"You and Aelita… there's something there, no?"

Jeremie felt all the liquid in his mouth dry up, and he went over worst-case scenario in his head. He saw that Anthea's expression was flat, not angry, and he took a leap of faith. "I didn't realize I was being so obvious about it."

It appeared to pay off. "Oh, good. If you ask me, she seems a bit lonely, and if you look at her when she thinks that you aren't watching, she just looks so sad." Anthea sighed, and she looked to the side. "She told me about the war, your engagement to Princess Laura, the relationship you had before that, even her life while she was a changeling, but I can't help but feel like she's involved in something bigger and more dangerous than any of that. Look after her, will you?" Smiling, she looked back at him. "Oh, and if you break her heart again, I'll cut off your balls."

Anthea stood and dusted herself off. She left the workshop, and Jeremie watched her go. He couldn't help but laugh at how cheerfully she'd threatened him.

 

After their breakfast Yumi had been asked by Laura to join her while she petitioned the elves for assistance, and because he had nothing better to do, Ulrich decided to tag along as well. Odd decided that he didn't want to be in a room full of boring, old politicians so he had left for the city after breakfast. He had agreed to allow Laura to borrow his sketchbook though, and had given it to her before leaving the estate. Laura now searched through his drawings, looking for sketches of the constructs they'd encountered along the way, as well as a very vague sketch of Xana that the princess hoped would convince the High Council that they were indeed facing the Dark Mother.

She stood now outside of the capitol building, looking at the door that led into the hall where the Council met. Laura pushed the door open, and she examined the faces of the elves around the table. She noticed that many were women, unlike the parties for nobility that she'd attended or the counselors that surrounded her father. The men were old and wizened, and many were speaking fondly of their daughters who would take their place. Laura looked nervously at Yumi and Ulrich, and while the Mercenary seemed indifferent, Yumi encouraged her.

"Greetings, members of the High Council!" Laura said as cheerfully as she was able. "My name is Princess Laura Gauthier of Lyoko, heir to the throne. I have come to speak to you about the current situation affecting Lyoko, and soon, all of Medieuropa."

One of counselors looked at her skeptically. "Why should we listen to the coddled child of our oppressors?" Laura sighed, unsurprised by his response. She remained silent for a moment, choosing to respond by holding up the portrait of Xana Kenval moving it slowly in an arc so that all present could see it. "She has reawakened. Xana Kenval will not stop until the entire surface is hers to command. She has already sundered the Veil, bolstering the numbers within her army considerably."

The elves of the council considered this, many turning to confer with their neighbors in hushed tones. As their collective attention turned back towards her, Laura noted that overall they seemed unmoved and a bit hostile. Before any of them could speak out, she began explaining how Xana had been indiscriminate about her death-dealing, and how she now appeared to be able to brainwash people.

Her mind floated to William, who had been her dedicated protector for many a year, and her fist clenched while she paused for a moment. It had been painful to see him in that way and her heart felt heavier than it had when she thought he had perished. He was a dark knight now, and she wondered if they could save him, or if he were lost to them forever. The thought colored her voice as she finished explaining what Xana had done to him.

Laura looked to the elves and, recalling something about politics, she swallowed her discomfort and took another look around the room, making sure to make eye contact. They ignored her effort at pretending they were equals but she could hear them whisper among themselves. Some suggested an alliance with Xana, in hopes that the Dark Mother would restore Elvhenan.

She tensed and, holding back just slightly less than all of her horror and anger, spoke more of the atrocities Xana had committed, about her use of blood magic and the wanton destruction of homes and businesses.

Most of the council were unmoved, a few even held open sneers. One old man stood up, not caring that he was interrupting her speech. He spoke with fury. "We have endured as much from your kind, shem. You would have us fight to spare you the horrors you inflicted upon us?" He looked around, "Have you heard of Xana attacking Elven cities or the wilder clans?" He answered his own question, looking around at his fellow councilors, "No. Xana isn't a threat to us, only to shem. I say let them face her alone! Let them face what they brought on us!"

Laura reeled back as a few echoed their agreement but she quickly recovered, confining her reaction to heated thoughts and shaking hands hidden by the podium. Raising her voice and glaring around the room with a vengeance she raised her voice "Hidden cities and small groups of roaming k-" She stopped herself from displaying her anger by retaliating with knife ear and continued with only a slight stumble. "Elvin families aren't useful targets. What about the elves that chose to live in human cities?"

With their renewed attention Laura continued to explain Xana's merciless slaying and enslaving of citizens, human and elf alike. The mention of slavery further stilled the voices but did little to ease the hard stares she was receiving. One member of the council rose from her seat and asked bluntly "Suppose we joined you and defeated Xana. Your kind would know of our strongholds and we would be weakened by the support we give. What promise and protection could you offer that we wouldn't be overrun with slavers before our warriors could even turn away from the battlefields?"

Laura sulked and she had too little self-control left to avoid giving it away. How had she been so foolish as to think that she, a human, could ever convince the elves of Halamshiral that Xana was a threat to them? "I can't." Laura admitted with a sigh.

The council chamber erupted into fervor and Yumi could see that this had spiraled badly out of control. She stepped to the podium and whispered something to Laura, reminding her that the elves had history and their own prophecies of Xana. Laura nodded and focused her attention back to the very center of the council group. Raising her voice she cut through the chatter with surprising volume and authority. "Listen all of you!" Into the surprised silence she spoke. "I ask that you consider what Xana did to you a century ago. Would your ancestors appreciate you teaming up with the very woman who burned your homes, who ordered the raping of your wives and daughters, who strung your children up from the trees you decorated with pride?"

The council remained silent now, and Laura forced back a sigh of relief that her emotional appeal had been at least somewhat successful. She collected her things and left the room. "You were great, Laura." Yumi said, and Ulrich agreed after Yumi sent a hip bump his way.

Laura sighed and without the politician's mask she looked drained. "I'm glad you think so. I need a drink."

 

Whilst wandering, Odd had learned something about himself—he had never spoken about it to many people, not even Ulrich, but he had always felt in Lyoko's cities that people could tell he had an elven parent just by looking at his face. He saw now, in a city full of elves, how easily he'd passed. Of course, this revelation did nothing to address his current problem.

He had never spent much time in Replika, and he'd never been inside Halamshiral. So, needless to say, he was hopelessly lost. Honestly, he didn't know what he expected when he'd entered the homeland of his father's people, but he guessed that he had expected to find alchemists and fletchers around every corner. Unfortunately, that assumption had been far off.

Smelling the familiar stench of a blacksmith's forge, Odd found himself in the craftsman's district. He looked inside one of the smithies to find a girl who, at this distance, looked like Aelita. Odd called out to her, but she didn't look up. He ran over to the girl who was working on an ornate piece of steel. "I called out to—oh, I'm sorry." Odd apologized as the girl looked up.

She looked similar enough to Aelita—their skin tones were similar and so was the structure of their cheekbones, but this was clearly not the Outcast. Her hair was the color of strawberries, and while it looked short in the front it was in fact long and braided tightly behind her. Her eyes were also darker and overall her features were sharper. Scoffing, the girl dismissed him. "I look like someone you know, right? That's the oldest pickup line in the book."

Odd was almost offended, but he let it slide. "Right, that was silly of me." He said flatly. "Anyway, my name is Odd." There was a moment of silence as the girl continued to bang her hammer against the metal to beat it into shape. Hot sparks flew off, and he stepped over to the side. "Are… you planning on telling me your name?"

The girl sighed. "Talia." She said flatly in between the strikes of her hammer.

"Talia, eh? Does that mean something in Elvish?" Odd asked.

Talia slammed her hammer down on the forge. "Why do people always ask that of those from other cultures? What about you? Were you named because you had some strange deformity at birth?"

Odd laughed. "Alright, alright, I get it." He leaned against the wall, and for a moment, he simply watched her work her forge. "You know, you look an awful lot like your mother. Aelita said that she died. A real shame, that."

She looked up at him. "Mam!" She shouted. A woman shouted back 'what' and Talia returned her attention to Odd, pulling on her left ear.

"Your birth mother. You must know that you're human and not elven." He said.

"I'm not? That's news. When did that happen?" Talia said, her voice getting progressively sharper.

Odd sighed. "So, do you like it here? I mean, it must feel strange being the only human in a city full of elves."

"Oh, no, I love it here! Everyone is so nice and friendly, and they never freak out when you ask questions about human society! And everything here is so unique and pretty! You want to know what I saw yesterday? A fucking tree. That never happens."

"Why are you acting so hostile?" He demanded, standing up.

"Because it's obvious what you're trying to do!"

"What am I trying to do, Talia, huh? What am I trying to do?"

"You're trying to get me to sleep with you!"

 

Odd threw back his head and groaned. "Contrary to popular belief, I do not want to sleep with every person I meet! Believe it or not, I do have standards."

Talia almost seemed surprised, if not offended. "You… don't want to sleep with me?"

"No! You look far too much like my friend Aelita. I think it would be less awkward to actually sleep with her than her changeling counterpart. And after… what happened in the Ravenbow Canyon… I have no attraction to Aelita whatsoever." Odd turned and walked out of the smithy. "I was just trying to have a conversation with you!" He called over his shoulder without hiding the frustration. "I thought that was the polite thing to do after you mistook someone for another! Next time, I'll avoid it, Ice Queen!"

Talia charged after him. "I am not an Ice Queen!" She shouted. She caught his arm and spun him around, forcing their lips together. Odd pushed her away and kept walking. Talia flicked her head, as if to knock back a long strand of hair that didn't exist.

Odd folded his arms across his chest and resisted looking back, walking until he found a fletcher. He bought a new bunch of arrows and examined them before continuing on his journey. The arrows were of fine make, and the detail was amazing—archaic designs covered the arrowhead and the shaft. As he continued wandering in what he hoped was the general direction of the Sarethari estate he saw Yumi, Ulrich and Laura sitting at a mushroom table outside of a tavern. He waved to them, sliding into the open seat. "Isn't this city amazing? I don't think I've ever met so many friendly people in one city!" Odd said sarcastically.

Laura rolled her eyes. "I am officially sick of this city. I can't wait to leave."

"Come on now, princess. I thought you would love the bureaucracy of the High Council." Ulrich said mockingly.

"I still cannot believe they considered joining forces with Xana before Lyoko." Laura said, taking a sip of her wine.

Yumi offered perspective. "Well, humans did take over their land, force them into slavery, cut off their connection to immortality and make them forget their culture and language."

Laura was silent for a moment. "Yeah but that was almost five centuries ago."

Odd laughed, Yumi rolled her eyes and Ulrich glared but said nothing. Thankfully a waiter broke the mounting tension by bringing Odd a tankard, and when the others answered his questioning looks with a shrug he examined it. He could not see nor smell anything wrong with it, so he drank it, believing it to be simple hospitality. He listened while the others gossiped; speaking of rumors they'd heard about Anthea and what had happened with Mehormanda. Laura called it a demon, and vaguely Odd remembered Jeremie speaking about it. His eyesight became hazy, but he attributed it to the ale in his tankard. Rather abruptly he excused himself and he stumbled away from the tavern. Yumi offered to help him back to the estate but Odd refused, claiming that it wasn't the first time he'd been drunk.

Soon however, he learned that while he may have been drunk before, this was one of the few times he'd been drugged.

 

Aelita looked around the chantry. This chantry was not at all like the chantry in Yolanda's tomb. This was the Shaman's home, a place where she could mix potions for the sick and offer aid to the needy. Vines with alchemy reagents hung from pots dangling from the ceiling, basking in the sunlight. Miscellaneous objects were scattered about the shelves, from traditional robes to halla skulls to even a flask of ground troll moss—suggesting that the hunters had found a troll's den and killed it. The moss that grew on the body of a stationary troll was said to have medicinal properties.

The Shaman was a short old woman, and while her cheeks were fallen, her face overall was round and grandmotherly. Her long grey hair had been tied back into a braided bun but most of it had fallen out. She wore brown robes that were far too big for her, and she carried a staff with an orange crystal embodied inside it. The Shaman would not reveal her true name, and Aelita complied with her wish.

The Shaman asked Aelita to grab one of the brown robes, and she did, pulling it over her shoulders. She did not tie it up, allowing the pink clothing she wore underneath to show through. When Aelita had finished, the Shaman tapped the floor twice with the end of her staff, and a trap door flew open, revealing a flight of stairs. "Please, follow me." The Shaman said, her voice raspy.

Aelita followed the elderly woman down the stairs. It was dark for a moment before the crystal began to glow. When the light faded due to a white light further down the tunnel, she narrowed her eyes, almost blinded. But when she learned what caused that light, she was glad she had not closed her eyes entirely.

Below the chantry was a magnificent sculpture of the Creation Father, even more impressive than the two that stood outside the building. He was taller than the tallest tree Aelita had ever seen, and where nature had been held in his hands, water fell into the pond at his feet. Surrounding the crystal-clear waters were evergreen trees with white needles and small crystals giving off soft light. The Outcast felt a warm breeze on her neck, and all around she heard music, like something played on a pan flute.

"This is the Oasis. Our stories claim that this was the first place the Creation Father designed, and our birthplace." The Shaman explained. She revealed the ribbon from her sleeve. The fabric had begun to change colors, looking like blood in this light. "This gift of the Asha'bellanar Yolanda is an ancient one, borne of Bellanaris. It is called the String of Second Chances."

Aelita tilted her head. "What does it do?"

The Shaman laughed. "It gives someone a second chance, of course! What else would it do?" She handed it to Aelita and folded her hands around it. "I am an old, old woman, da'len, but even in my youth I could not have activated this relic, for it requires more magic than most magicians can spare. But you are unlike any mage I've ever met. Your magical reservoir is three times the size of mine. You might survive."

While Aelita was apprehensive about the 'might' she did not wish to anger the Shaman. "What must I do, Shaman?"

The Shaman pointed to the pond. "Place the ribbon in the pond," She then shifted her wrinkly hand to point towards a stone slab buried in the ground. "Then, kneel on the slab and focus all of your magic onto the statue. But be careful, da'len. You are weaker today than most days and your mother will never forgive me if you die."

"Ma nuvenin." Aelita said. She approached the pond, nervously entering the water. It was warm against her bare feet—she'd left her boots at home; she had seen no point in wearing them to the chantry—and she saw fish swimming about with tails that were long and made them look like shooting stars. Aelita placed the ribbon in the water and the fish scattered.

She walked out of the water, looking nervous as it turned blood red. Aelita looked at the Shaman, but the old woman only nodded encouragingly. Aelita looked at the stone slab. It depicted first creation, then destruction and finally peace. She fell to her knees, and she pressed her fingertips together. The Outcast focused her magic on the statue, and while it felt like only moments, she knew consciously that several hours passed. Being in the Oasis empowered her, but even the constant energy it gave her could not keep up with her draining it like this.

Aelita knew she was pushing herself too hard but she didn't care. She felt her nose begin to bleed, and she felt Hunger calling out to her, begging to be used. Unable to correct either situation, Aelita began to sing. It was a single, long note and it was not entertainment but simply a distraction from spirits and her own fatigue.

Eventually the Shaman grabbed her shoulder, and Aelita's concentration broke. She held her head for it now throbbed, and the Shaman removed the cloak she wore. Then the wizened woman approached the pond, and she looked like she was offering the cloak to someone in the water. Aelita heard the Shaman speaking with another woman, but their words were meaningless as she fell to the side, coughing weakly and spitting up blood.

The Shaman turned back to Aelita, and shock spread across her face. At the same time an elvhen woman with feral looking vallaslin and long brown hair ran up to the stricken girl, fear in her eyes. The last word Aelita said before she lost consciousness was, "Edna."


	35. Winter 5

Episode 5: Elder and Apprentice

29th of Matrinalis, 5:03 Guardian

Aelita waited patiently as Edna redid the braids in her hair, or as patiently as she could. She looked at her feet, which were caked in a thick layer of dirt. She summoned a small wisp of water and cleaned them before she slid on her shoes. Aelita looked up at the sky, and Edna looked up as well. The sky was beginning to grow dark, and the stars were beginning to show.   
"Edna?" Aelita asked, not moving her eyes.

"Yes, da'len?" Edna responded, secretly conjuring a yellow mountain flower to tuck into her braid.

"Why does the moon change its shape?" She asked, kicking up the dirt. Aelita knew that Eleanor would have a fit when she returned late and covered in dirt, again. But she'd stopped caring.

Edna took in a deep breath. "Before the Creation Father designed our world, he created the Destruction Mother to help him bring balance to the world, so she was called the Balanced One at that time. They worked together to create a beautiful sky for us in both night and day, but they created nothing without a purpose. The clouds that decorate the sky during the day bring omens, both good and ill. The stars hold our destinies, and show us the paths that lie before us to reach it. The sun that warms us and shines upon our world is a symbol of the Creator's influence. Similarly, the moon was a symbol of the Balanced, and in those days the moon was always full.

"But the Balanced One was unhappy with the world they had created. She was discontented with the mortals that slept during the time of her influence. Even the drow at that time preferred the day, though they were closer to the Balanced One than most. She rebelled against the Creation Father, and a great war ensued. During that time, the mortals took sides. The People stood with the Creator, and the drow stood with the Balanced. The dwarves aided the drow, but the humans were cowards, and they fled to the faraway land that we call Shiralan, where they remained for a thousand years."

Aelita was absorbed in the story. Edna moved with it, motioning with her hands and creating images with her magic. "And then what happened, Hahren?"

Edna smiled. "The war was long and hard, but no one knows how long it lasted because the days and nights blended together. The sky itself was divided, showing both the sun and the moon. The People and the Creation Father were far more powerful than the drow and the Balanced One. But much of the land had been destroyed. As punishment, he banished the drow beneath the earth, and he submerged the dwarven cities along with them. Then, he exiled the Balanced One, and when they spilt, he renamed her the Destruction Mother.

"The Creator did all that he could to lessen her influence, but he couldn't erase her influence completely because destroying all of it would create only more unrest. So he took her influence, the moon, and he warped it. Every night the moon takes a new shape. When it wanes, the Creator is telling us that the Destructor's influence is weak. When it waxes, he is telling us that her influence is strong." Edna stood taller and walked behind Aelita, as if she had finished her story and expected her apprentice to return home. "That's why monsters come out at night. Monsters like… werewolves!" Edna grabbed Aelita, ticking her sides until the child squealed with laughter.

Her laughter fading, Aelita asked, "What if someone comes after me? What do I do?"

Edna frowned. "The only person around here you have to fear is Thomas Vincent."

"Why? Isn't he just the Knight Templar?"

She looked at her student. How was she to explain to a child that such hatred existed? How could she say that he feared her because of what she was and what she could do? Aelita likely knew already, but Edna did not want to color the little girl's world with such ugly emotions. "No, he's a vampire. He tried to recruit me into his legion of the undead."

Aelita's eyes widened with wonder. "I knew it," She said, her voice somehow both surprised and unsurprised.

Edna laughed. After a moment, she said, "I love you, da'len. You're like the daughter I could never have."

The child looked up. She smiled, her eyes filled with tears. "I love you too." She hugged her mentor, who wrapped her arms around Aelita with the strong yet tender love of a mother.

 

15th of Cassus, 5:08 Guardian

Odd sat up suddenly, though immediately he decided that was a bad idea as pain seemed to explode from his temple. For a long moment he was stock still, his eyes tightly closed against the splitting pain until it receded some. Opening his eyes carefully he waited until they adjusted to the light and then looked around slowly. He was in someone's bedchamber, though he didn't remember how he got there and the surroundings weren't at all familiar. Seeing his clothes piled next to the bed only added to his confusion.

He reached down to collect his things, wanting to find his way out as quickly as possible. "Where are you going?" A voice behind him asked. It startled him, though in hindsight he should've expected one. Odd turned to see Talia lying next to him, and she sat up. Her long hair had come out of its braid, now around her waist. He had to admit that she was pretty but she still too closely resembled Aelita. What was more disturbing was that he had no memory of returning to the smithy where she worked, yet he must've gotten there somehow. He continued to gather his things, and Talia caught his arm. "Hey! I asked you where you're going."

"Obviously, away from you." Odd snapped, pulling up his pants. Talia sat up as well and pulled on her dress. She walked around and grabbed his shoulder, but he yanked it away. Talia grabbed it again. Odd now ripped her hand off of him. "What in Mediterra did you think drugging me and bringing me back here would accomplish?"

Talia didn't have an answer. "What's the matter? Aren't I pretty? Don't you like me? Didn't we have fun?"

He snapped answers off as he finished dressing himself. "Yes, you're pretty. No, I don't like you. And I don't remember! Honestly, you have some nerve! I'm going to report this to the guard!"

Talia laughed, and she leaned against the wall. "What makes you think they're going to believe you?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Odd asked, approaching the door.

"Because they know me, and they don't know you. And if they asked your friends, what would they say? Would they claim that you're an innocent little boy, or would they claim that you get around?" She smirked. "You may not remember, but even though you were drugged you were by no stretch of the imagination unconscious."

Odd's eyes widened and although he didn't say anything in return, he was startled by her words. He shook his head and walked out of the room. Like the headache however, Talia's words still floated inside of his head, and he tried to push them out of his memory.

 

Aelita woke up in the Sarethari estate. Her head pounded but she was alive, and she was grateful for that. She couldn't help but wonder what she'd done—she remembered passing out, having depleted her entire magic reserve, but she knew not what that had done. Aelita remembered seeing Edna but it was likely nothing more than a hallucination.

"Aelita, you're awake!" Jeremie said, and she looked to her side. He sat next to her, and he hugged her. "What were you thinking? What did you do?"

"I'm not sure. How did I get back here?"

Jeremie leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "A woman carried you back here. She said that she would've healed you on the spot but she hadn't regenerated enough magic yet, so I called Laura back. She healed you. How are you feeling now?"

Her eyes widened slightly, but she tried to remain calm. "Fine, I guess. This woman… was she older? What did she look like?"

"That depends on what you mean by older. Older than us? Yes. She wasn't an old woman though." Jeremie tried to remember specifics about the woman. "She was in a brown robe. She had long brown hair but she asked for a dagger and she cut it."

"Was she an elvhen woman?" Aelita asked as she pulled her legs over the side of the bed she lay in. They felt heavy, like they'd fallen asleep.

"Of course! Who else would have carried you back here? I can't imagine a human or a dwarf would have, even if they lived here."

Aelita jumped up out of the bed, and she wobbled for a moment. Jeremie tried to catch her, and she waved him off. He chased the Outcast as she ran out of the room, sliding on the carpet before catching himself. Aelita spotted the elvhen woman with brown hair speaking to Anthea, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Edna," She whispered. Laughing, she ran up to the woman and hugged her from behind.

The woman was startled, but she looked down. Aelita looked up, and tears flooded her eyes. This was indeed Edna, not only that but she was unharmed, and she looked as young as she had that day. Edna smiled, and she hugged Aelita back. "Aneth ara, da'len." She whispered.

"Edna! You're alive! Thank the Creator!" Aelita sobbed. "But… how?" Jeremie looked in surprise from one elf to the other. 'How' was an excellent question.

Edna struggled to explain it. "I… honestly don't know. The Shaman said that my soul had been stored in the String of Second Chances and that Asha'bellanar Yolanda gave it to you, but I don't know how my soul came to be stored there or how she came to possess it." She raised one of her eyebrows. "I remember only a dark forest, and a spirit helped me retain my sanity."

Anthea seemed surprised. "You remember death?"

She smiled weakly. "If my soul remained tethered to the Garden then I was not truly dead, I don't think."

Aelita didn't care about that. She grabbed Edna's hands. "Let's go build a snowman!" She suggested with sparkling eyes. "Let's go dancing through the halls! Let's go throw tomatoes at the magistrate outpost about ten miles up the forest! Let's—"

Edna placed a finger on Aelita's lips. "Aelita, no. You're pushing yourself too hard. You need to rest now."

"I'm not pushing myself too hard! You're alive, and I want to make up for lost time!" She protested, and while it looked like she was about to say more, she coughed into her hand. She opened her palm and looked in horror at the tiny specks of blood that had collected there.

"I've been speaking with your mother. I know what happened with Mehormanda. If your parents were both Blind, you never should've been born a magician. She wants to weaken you. Look, just being near the site of her magic burst has made you sick!" Edna pleaded.

Aelita narrowed her eyes. "I've had dealing with the same sort of spirit as Mehormanda before. I can handle her." She said flatly.

Edna seemed surprised. "You… have? Are you saying…?"

"I am a blood magician, yes."

Edna seemed both disappointed and angry to a degree. "Why would you do such a thing? Don't you know how dangerous that can be?"

"I thought that if anyone would understand, you would! You told me to survive, and if I hadn't turned to blood magic I wouldn't have!"

"Aelita… Do you still have Erahalam?" Edna asked, and when Aelita nodded, she held out her hand. "Return the bond to me."

She hesitated. "Murray's soul resides inside of the skull. If I return the bond to you, what will happen to him?"

She tilted her head. "Your durgenlen friend?" Aelita nodded again. "He is trapped because Erahalam was never intended to grace the hands of a blood mage."

"Then how was I supposed to summon the damned thing?"

"You shared a bond with it! You could have called it with your mind!" Edna shouted.

Aelita frowned, but she tried to summon Erahalam without the use of blood magic. She focused on the staff, and she pictured it in front of her. When she closed her palm, her fingers touched the wood of the staff. She then placed it in Edna's expecting hand, and she said, "I give you my staff. Carry it now. The bond is yours." She felt a pang of regret, but it was too late.

Edna bowed. "I will work on freeing Murray's soul. He will not return to the physical world but at least he can rest easy in death."

"Thank you, Hahren." Aelita said shamefully. She remembered looking at his skeleton, and regret filled her again. She'd killed him.

Anthea presented Aelita with a flute, though it was small and part of a necklace. It was white, but it had a faint red glow and it seemed to radiate energy, almost like laughter, yet it was vaguely sinister. "This belonged to your grandmother. She was a blood magician too, and she carried this wherever she went."

Aelita blew a note on the flute, and then she held it out in front of her. It grew, becoming a staff. It was long and apparently made of ivory, the bottom covered in what looked like shadowy corruption. At both ends were a crescent moon-shaped blade, and like the flute it was white with a red glow, though the glow seemed more like lines than an actual glow. The top of the staff held the larger blade. Raven feathers marked the first quarter of the staff.

Just holding the staff gave Aelita a great sense of power, and she could feel it coursing through her veins. Anthea explained that her mother had told her the staff had belonged to a powerful spirit in Bellanaris known for its laughter. "It is called Samahlin. Be careful with it." Anthea warned.

"Blood Laughter," Edna translated grimly. "Are you sure that it's a good idea to encourage her?"

Anthea smiled. "Not really."

Aelita looked between the two women with conflicting emotion. Her grandmother's staff felt a more natural fit to her than Erahalam and she was glad to have something of her birth family. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she had failed in Edna's eyes, that Edna requesting the staff back was final confirmation that she had failed miserably and was no longer worthy of being Edna's adopted daughter. She turned and walked away, willing the staff back to its smaller state.

Jeremie watched the two adults talk. Anthea was beginning to change the subject from Edna's misgivings to what her daughter was like and the family that had received her. Uncomfortable questions and conversation in general and nothing he needed to hear. Especially not with the way Aelita walked down the hallway. Her shoulders sagged and her head was bowed, her gaze concentrated on the floor and her steps were slow and wobbly.

"Aelita?" Jeremie called softly when he caught up to her. She turned her head sideways and nodded then returned to gaze at the floor. "Aelita?" Jeremie asked again and this time when she glanced at him he continued on. "There's still hope. I get the impression that elves don't really…" He fidgeted uncomfortably as he walked beside her, now doubting that memories best left to fade should be brought up. But he started so now he had to finish. "They don't think of blood magic as I did. Nothing you've said and done can't be forgiven in time."

She looked up at him, green eyes shining with moisture and just the faintest glimmer of hope. She said nothing, but for now, it was enough that she had listened.

 

It was late in the afternoon when Jeremie called all of the Heroes back to the estate via telepathy and now having gathered together once again in the dining room they waited for dinner. "Aelita, I just want you to know that I prefer you to the human the elves took to occupy your space." Odd said flatly.

"I… ma serannas?" She said in confusion.

Anthea looked at Odd. "Oh, you met Talia Dorfalas?" When he nodded, she added, "Oh, yeah, she's a bitch. We don't talk about it."

While Odd nodded his agreement, Edna looked to the humans sitting around Aelita and considered. Jeremie sat next to her, staying just a bit closer to her than the others. Ulrich was on the other side, casting a questioning glance to Odd that the boy ignored. The one known as Yumi sat across from Ulrich and beside Odd, looking somewhat more mature then the others. She bore no ill will towards them, though she noted that Laura, who seemed to be seated as far from Aelita as still being in the general group would allow, was a princess. Bearing no ill will however, was not the same as believing they were the best group for Aelita to remain with, especially in light of her blood magic and the part they seemed to expect to play in the war. Frowning slightly, she spoke up. "You cannot spend much more time in Halamshiral, da'len."

Aelita nodded. She felt like an abyss had grown between them. "I know."

"I know that many of the Aloten remained in Arlathan, and I'm sure that they will be more than willing to return to a nomadic lifestyle when they learn that I yet live. So, Aelita, I was thinking that you should come with me to Arlathan when I go."

Jeremie looked at Aelita, who looked up at her Hahren. "You… want to take me to Arlathan with you?" She asked, the shock making her voice lower than normal. Aelita had been denied entrance to the city when she had finally made it there, though no answer she received for her denial was the same, nor were they satisfying. Jeremie stood and excused himself from the table, and the others watched him leave. "I… don't know what to say."

Edna smiled. "I thought you wanted to see Arlathan?"

"I do, but… I have a duty. My friends and I… we're fighting against Xana. I'm a Hero chosen by destiny." Aelita explained. "I guess now we're trying to gather an army."

"But you do not intend to fight her right now, do you?" Edna asked. "I beg you; reconsider. There is no need for you to be alone."

"I am not alone." Aelita said firmly, glancing to the empty seat beside her. She tried to excuse herself, but Anthea asked that she at least try to eat some before she went to bed. The Outcast managed to eat a little of the soup prepared for her but swallowing hurt, and she began to worry about Jeremie.

Immediately after being excused she searched the estate for him, and eventually she spotted him in her father's workshop, tinkering with the centurion. He looked content enough, and Aelita wanted nothing to do with the machine, so she decided he could wait and went to explore a bit more on her own. She discovered a staircase that led up into the attic, and she climbed up there. Inside the attic were many old things—one such thing was a stylized image of her mother and father. She cursed, seeing no way to pick out any of her father's facial features from the stylized image except his vallaslin.

Aelita looked over and saw a trunk. She opened it, and inside she found many journals. She grabbed one and flipped through it. It was all written in the Common, and Aelita sighed as she closed it, coughing as she jumped back and away from the mushroom could of dust the quick action caused. She looked to her other side and saw a dress on a mannequin.

The Outcast moved closer to the dress, and she learned very quickly that it was her mother's wedding dress. The white silk was soft to the touch and across the bodice where seashells that she couldn't help but wonder how they were acquired. Aelita looked nervously towards the staircase, and quickly she pulled the dress off of the mannequin. She changed into it, and she looked at her reflection in a nearby mirror.

Aelita was a bit too small for the skirt so it brushed against the tops of her feet, but otherwise it fit her like a glove. The neckline of the actual dress was a sweetheart, if Aelita correctly remembered Mamae Asha's lesson on formal attire, though sheer fabric covered her up to her neck. The bodice was slightly uncomfortable because of the seashells but they were beautiful to look at. The sleeves hung off her shoulders, and they collected at the silken bracers.

She could only imagine how beautiful her mother had looked in the dress as she walked to meet her father. This thought could only lead to a wonder of where she would be if her father hadn't been obsessed with his centurion.

"Aelita?" A voice said. She turned to see Jeremie standing in the doorway. She smiled at him briefly before returning to the mirror. Jeremie walked up behind her, and he seemed to be staring. Suddenly she became very self-conscious, remembering that the sheer fabric could not cover up the scars from her life as a slave. Aelita also remembered Jeremie asking her if she wanted Laura to heal them which did nothing to help her self-image. She pulled in her arms, and shifted the fabric of the sleeves, trying her best to cover up her scars. "Is that a wedding dress?" Jeremie asked.

"It belonged to my mother." Aelita said quietly.

"You look beautiful." He said with an honest smile. Aelita smiled too, but her self-consciousness had not yet faded. "Actually, I… uh… wanted to talk to you about something."

Aelita turned to face him and she took a few steps back, not because she was afraid of him or what he had to say, but because she didn't want her scars to show up in her reflection. "What is it?" She asked.

Jeremie took a deep breath. "Does this all feel strange to you? I mean, we've been travelling for so long, it will have to feel weird when we stop travelling."

"You can always keep travelling. The People never stay in one place for very long, at least not without purpose." Aelita replied. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw Jeremie wince when she said you.

"I know. That isn't what I mean. What I'm trying to ask is…" He struggled for the words. "Okay, so all of this time we've spent together—tragedy, brushes with death, constant battles with drow, zombies and constructs, the whole war looming over us… will you miss it, once it's over?"

Aelita was silent for a moment. She walked closer to him. "Miss the constant doom and gloom… or miss you?"

Jeremie hung his head. "I… know that Edna asked you to rejoin the wilders and go with her to Arlathan. I know that life must be a lot more appealing than any other."

"Jermeie…"

"Let me finish." He interrupted her. "I know that this must sound strange, especially coming from a human, but I've… come to care for you. A great deal. I think maybe it's because we've gone through so much together, I don't know. Or maybe I'm imagining it." He finished solemnly. He looked up at her, and nervously he took a few steps closer to her. "Am I fooling myself?" He asked, "Or do you think that you could ever feel the same way about me?"

Aelita couldn't breathe for a moment. "Do you… mean that?"

He smiled. "I've never been more honest in my entire life."

"Even though I'm not human like you are?"

"Contrary to what Laura might tell you, it makes no difference."

Aelita smiled. She nervously took his face in her hands, and he wrapped his arms around her. They kissed, and when Aelita pulled away she looked more nervous. "That… wasn't too soon, was it, ma vhenan?"

"I don't know. More testing is needed, I think." Jeremie suggested.

Aelita laughed. "I'll have to arrange that, then, won't I?"

He laughed too. "But, gods, you are beautiful. I am a lucky man." He looked like he was about to say something else when Odd charged in.

Odd looked confused. "I'm not interrupting, am I?" He asked. Aelita held back a groan as Jeremie released her. "Anyway, your mother's gift to us just arrived."

The trio left the attic and entered the main hall where the others examined a specially-made Eluvian. Aelita at first assumed that this was not the gift, for most wilders would never in a million years consider giving something so valuable to a group of teenage humans. "I had this Eluvian built with a special function—it can find and show a person from your memory so long as they are alive. If you want it to, it also sends a spirit bird out to them, and those birds can carry letters." Anthea explained.

"So you mean we can use this mirror to contact, say, our parents or other family members?" Yumi asked, lightly touching the glass.

"Yes. In addition, it can also be used to contact anyone with a physical Eluvian in their presence, and it performs other functions as well. Every Eluvian contains the knowledge accumulated by the elvhen. So we never have to be apart again, da'len, even when you are far away." Anthea smiled at her daughter.

"This is a fine gift. You have our thanks." Laura said formally, and she touched the glass. It reflected an image of her father, and she smiled before pulling her hand away.

Each of the Heroes took turns touching the glass, picturing their families and getting more excited as their parents and siblings were proven to be alive. Deciding to leave the next morning, they stayed up half the night writing letters for the spirit birds to carry to their families.

 

16th of Cassus

It was late and cold when the heroes set up camp on their first night back on the road to Cortex. Yumi was just starting first watch and all but one of the others had crawled into their tents for the night. That one was looking apprehensively at Jeremie's tent and she jumped when Yumi, who had finally had enough of watching her pace back and forth as if she couldn't decide whether to go in or to retreat to her own tent, tapped on her shoulder. "Sorry Aelita, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's alright." She said quietly.

"You go in, I'm sure he's decent by now." Aelita's cheeks colored slightly but she nodded and went to the flap that served as the door to his tent. She looked back over her shoulder as Yumi called her. "Odd's got next watch so if you've had enough of his teasing over how he caught you two in the attic, I'd stay in there until Ulrich's watch."

"Thanks Yumi." Aelita smiled.

"Just don't do anything you'll regret." Yumi replied with a wink. Aelita merely shook her head in reply then turned back to letting herself in.

Once inside, she lowered herself down beside him, loosening her coat as she settled herself. In the darkness she turned her head to see him smiling gently at her and said the only thing that really came to mind. "Hi."

"Hi." Jeremie greeted back with an amused tone of voice. "Shouldn't you be resting?" He asked with genuine concern.

"You need sleep too," She answered gently. "But since neither of us is sleeping…" Gathering her courage, she sucked in a breath. "Do you remember the attic? The dress?"

Jeremie grinned, "Of course. You were stunning."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "Even with my visible scars?"

At this, Jeremie propped himself up on his elbows and gazed at her with a serious expression. "You had scars?" He asked in a surprised tone. Aelita couldn't help it and she laughed. Her laughter proved to be contagious because soon Jeremie was laughing with her. The moment of levity passed and the frown returned to her face, causing Jeremie to slowly stop laughing as well. He avoided frowning by pressing his lips into a straight line. "Aelita?" he asked quietly.

"You asked me to let Laura heal my scars once, do you remember?"

He nodded. "I thought it would help you." Jeremie answered kindly. After a moment of staring into Aelita's doubtful look he glanced down at the floor. "I guess I also hoped it would help all of us by making your status as an escaped slave less visible to those who saw you and perhaps it would help the rest of us in some other ways."

Aelita's expression darkened slightly and she was more hesitant as she spoke. "Help you by making me more beautiful?"

He breathed out "Oh honey, no, that's not…" His voice trailed off on seeing that she wasn't convinced and he closed his eyes tightly for a moment. When he opened them he saw that she was shifting uncomfortably and looked like she was preparing to get up. He mentally kicked himself before coming up with an idea, one which created wagon wheel sized butterflies in his stomach and set his hands shaking. He sat up slowly, with Aelita eying him questioningly and gestured for her to set up as well. She shifted and pushed herself up, tucking her legs underneath herself and still looking unsettled, even fearful.

Slowly, he reached out and took hold of one side of her coat, whispering "please" as he gently pulled the garment off of her shoulder. Then he reached for the sleeve of her shirt and whispered "trust me" to her. She thought for a second then closed her eyes and nodded, hoping that she could banish the memory of the last time a guy had gotten this physically close to her. But Jeremie was different, and she really did know that because if she hadn't, he'd already have been sent screaming though the side of his tent. She still shuddered at the sense of vulnerability that came from Jeremie pushing the sleeve up until her shoulder, and the scars there, were exposed to the night air.

In the darkness she felt the air around her change what had to be a hot breath tickle the skin of her arm. Her eyes shot open and she saw a mass of blonde hair and the side of Jeremie's face as he leaned in close. Panic filled her for a moment, replaced as quickly as it came by something else entirely when she felt something warm, soft and somewhat moist press down against one of her many scars. The realization struck her with enough force to make her gasp; he was kissing the thing she hated most about her body.

All the terrible memories, all the searing pain, all the terrible things she'd seen at Arak-Muna. The other lessons she'd been forced to watch, the ones she didn't tell anyone about and had never used. The scars she carried were so much more than skin deep and yet here was her Jeremie, kissing the most visible reminder of what might be the worst thing humanity could put her through as though it didn't make her ugly. As though it was nothing that he should fear or feel put off from or… She didn't know and as she felt another kiss pressed to a different scar she lost any semblance or care for introspection. Instead she relaxed and leaned into him, wrapping her free arm around his body and nuzzling her head into his shoulder. Tears dripped freely from her eyes and she didn't hold back from crying.


	36. Winter 6

Episode 6: Monsters!

20th of Cassus

 

The camp was still as they picked up after breakfast, and the quiet was driving Odd mad. He was getting antsy as he waited for someone, anyone, in the group to begin speaking, but they all remained stubbornly silent. So rather than just calmly break the silence, he decided then that he would make his own fun. He sized up his friends and after evaluating who was most likely to drop what they were doing to have fun, Odd prepared a snowball and threw it at Aelita. She yelped when it struck the back of her neck, exploding and sending icy crystals down her coat, and she glared at Odd. Aelita lifted the snow from the ground and collected it into a snowball that was easily twice the size of Odd's head.

Cursing himself for having forgotten she was a mage, Odd sprinted away from her. She raised her snowball magically over her head and chased after him. He shot up a nearby tree and perched on a branch out of the way. She stopped at the base of the tree, looking up at Odd. She rolled her eyes and began to drop the snowball. It froze in midair, and she flicked her wrist. The snowball defied gravity and shot straight up, pausing just long enough for Odd to scold himself for thinking a tree would stop her. It struck him with such force to knock him out of the tree, sending him down to the snowy earth below. Aelita smirked as she stood over him. "I believe the saying goes, 'revenge is a dish best served cold'."

"I'll serve you cold," Odd hissed as he knocked snow from his face.

She laughed loudly at him, but she jumped when she turned and saw Yumi. "Lethallan, you scared me. I didn't hear you approach." Aelita admitted.

Yumi offered her hand to Odd. "You shouldn't be playing in the snow. You should be saving your energy for the trip into town. It'll take us a long time to get there." She said seriously.

Aelita almost looked hurt. "I was just… he had already…"

The Colonist held up her hand. "Enough. We're moving out soon." She said flatly as she walked away, a strange quality to her stride. Aelita and Odd both watched her with great concern.

"Do you know if Yumi is feeling alright? She's acting strangely and I didn't see her eat anything this morning." Aelita said.

Odd shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's something in the water."

She rolled her eyes and rushed back to help the others finish picking up camp.

 

The sky was crystal-clear, and Odd looked up to the moon. Or he would have, if the moon had been present. That night on the eve of the solstice the moon was new. Yet he felt his wolf-blood stir within him, as if the moon were full. It felt strange, not quite like a transformation but like everything around him was fuzzy and unreal.

His veins boiled and pulsed, and he started to sweat. He removed his bear-skin cloak and walked out into the open air. The snow that twisted up from the strong icy winds melted as soon as it brushed his burning skin. Things started to fade in and out. Sometimes he was in Aria, the name of the town the Heroes were staying in, and other times he was in the middle of a dark depressing forest where the full moon constantly beat down on him.

Odd rushed through that forest happily, for there it felt like he was invincible. When the forest gave way to Aria, he felt lost and very confused. He convinced himself that the forest was what was real and Aria was the dream.

Night showed no signs of waning and he was hungry, so he searched the forest for food. He spotted a large deer in the brush, and smirking, he leapt upon it. It was only now he realized he had his moonborn strength without his monstrous form, and he took advantage of it to snap the deer's neck. Looking around, Odd could find no way to cook the deer, and being a werewolf, he decided to simply eat it raw.

The forest gave way to Aria, and while the forest usually returned after a couple of minutes, this time it remained the small farming village. Odd thought nothing of it until he moved to take another bite out of the deer's leg, as that's when he noticed he was not eating a deer. His eyes widened in horror when he saw the mangled and half-eaten corpse of a young man not much older than himself lying in the snow.

Odd jumped up, and, feeling afraid, he washed his bloody hands and face in the snow. He was so afraid of what had happened; he could only hope that it was a dream. And like a dream the path he took back to the tavern was unclear, twisty and long like a labyrinth in an ancient legend. When he found his way back he found a common mirror and examined his reflection. The Scout washed the remaining blood from his hands, clothes and face before he looked closer at his reflection. His eyes had turned bright orange, like they were in his wolf form.

Peculiarly all he could manage to do was cackle like a mad hyena. He didn't understand why he was laughing, because he wasn't amused and there was nothing funny about what he had done, but hard as he tried, his laughter would not stop.

 

21st of Cassus

The group had left Aria behind, much to Odd's relief. Aelita expressed her unease at travelling on the solstice but she admitted that they didn't have much of a choice. Jeremie simply urged the Heroes to be cautious, as slavers had been known to take advantage of the rebellion in Replika to increase the number of slaves they had.

Yumi pointed up to a tree, and when the others looked, not even Odd could see what she pointed at. She tied her rabbit mask behind her ears, disappearing from sight and not even leaving footprints or making a 'crunch' as she rushed across the snow.

Yumi had spotted a man in that tree, and after studying him for a while, she concluded that he was, in fact, a slaver. She bent her knees and jumped as high as she could, landing softly on the high branch the slaver sat on. As she reached to take his dagger, the sun reached high noon and the invisibility given to Yumi by her mask faded. The slaver turned and shouted, but Yumi was too quick for him. The Colonist snatched his dagger and slashed at his throat.

Before she jumped down, she found a map that detailed the ambush location. She smiled beneath her mask as she walked back towards the Heroes. "A scout for a group of slavers. This is their ambush location. I don't know if you want to ambush them or go around, but here it is." She explained as she gave the map to Jeremie.

Yumi deftly untied the string on the back of her mask, and she held her face down in anticipation for it to fall. It didn't.

Confused, she pulled on it, but the more she pulled the tighter it seemed to become. Ulrich was the first to pick up on her dilemma, and he dug his nails under the mask to try to pry it off. The others excluding Aelita held onto Ulrich to offer their strength, but nothing worked. Aelita blew a note on her flute to summon Samahlin, and she used the smaller curved blade to dig under it. The Outcast channeled a lot of magic into the end of the staff, and eventually she had collected enough to force the mask from Yumi's face.

This presented only more problems. The mask cracked as it struck Ulrich's skull, and Yumi started to scream bloody murder. From her body rose tiny amounts of smoke, as if she burned in the sun. Ulrich ignored his splitting headache as he ripped off his coat and threw it over Yumi, and while she still screamed and burned, it was not as intense.

The Heroes rushed inside of the aravel, trying their best to shield Yumi from the sun. As soon as Yumi had sat down on one of the cots, Laura tried to heal her burns. None of her healing spells worked. Jeremie held back, covering his mouth and nose. "Gods, Yumi. You're a vampire. I can feel it."

Yumi looked at him with glowing orange eyes. "What?!"

Odd looked at Jeremie. "That must be what changed about you. You can sense vampires now, can't you?" He asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe I can only tell because I'm psychically linked to all of you. We may never know." Jeremie shrugged.

Odd laughed, though what Jeremie had said was not humorous. "Anyway, Belpois is right. You're a vampire. I can smell it on you."

Ulrich shook his head. "I don't understand. How did this happen?" He asked.

Jeremie tilted his head. "I don't know. Perhaps the mask was cursed?"

"I did notice… strange things when I put it on." Yumi admitted.

Laura folded her arms. "It explains a lot though. Why my healing spells don't work on you anymore, why you haven't been sleeping well, why you haven't eaten anything recently…"

"How do we cure it?" Ulrich asked, fear obvious in his voice.

Aelita seemed uncomfortable. "The only way I know of is to kill the forebear, but Yumi was turned by the mask. I'd suggest breaking it to see what happens, but it's already broken and that appears to be what triggered the vampirism." She drew her dagger and cut open her own wrist, presenting it to Yumi. "Drink this. It should heal your wounds."

Yumi seemed apprehensive, but Aelita shot her a reassuring smile. She bit down on Aelita's wrist, drinking her blood. Indeed, her wounds healed, but she was filled with this sense of corruption that would not fade.

Laura looked at Jeremie. "Perhaps we should contact the magistrates? They deal with vampires a lot."

Jeremie seemed almost offended. "What? Are you mad?"

Ulrich agreed with the Wise Man. "We have a werewolf, a blood mage and now a vampire in our company. We'd all end up dangling from the hangman's noose or burned at the stake before we were given a cure!"

"We must do something!" Laura argued. "Maybe you could contact Patrick? The Eluvian showed us that he is still alive, correct?"

Jeremie admitted that it was true Patrick was alive. Odd smiled weakly at him. "It would be nice to see him again."

"I'll write to him. But I'll be vague." Jeremie admitted defeat.

Aelita stood straighter. "I'll get to work on creating a way for Yumi to remain with us during the day. I know some embroidery that should help." She took a needle, silver thread and Yumi's dark blue cloak.

Odd looked at Yumi. She was paler now, and her eyes showed fear. He hated vampires, but this was Yumi. Surely she would be different.

Yumi tried to cry as the Heroes excluding Ulrich and Jeremie left the aravel. It jerked into motion, and she started whimpering. No tears would come. The Mercenary took her hand and squeezed it. "It's okay, Yumi. Everything will be alright."

"How can you tell?" She asked.

"Because I won't let anything happen to you," he said firmly.

Jeremie smiled, but then he coughed. "We're walking on thin ice now, you know. We'll have to be extra careful."

Ulrich groaned sarcastically. "I thought we were already being extra careful. Does this mean we have to be extra, extra careful?" Jeremie nodded with a smile. "Damn."


	37. Winter 7

Episode 7: a Change in the Wise Man

31st of Cassus

 

It was New Year's Eve, but none of the Heroes felt particularly cheery. The roads had been unusually quiet that day, and as they began walking on the path between two fields, they learned why—they were on the grounds of a plantation run on slave labor. No slavers seemed to be in the area, except the Overseer scouting the fields on his horse. The rest of the security was provided by guardsmen from Cortex, which was strange because they were still several days away. "They're here to stop any vigilantes who might try to free the slaves," Laura explained, though her voice shook. It seemed even she was disturbed by the sight—several dozen slaves worked fields of winter plants that had mostly died due to the drought. The Overseer was not gentle, shouting constantly and snapping his whip. Every time the crack reverberated through the air, Aelita visibly flinched. She walked in between Jeremie and Ulrich, her shaking hands holding on Jeremie's coat as if her life depended on it.

A guardsman stopped the Heroes, inquiring about Aelita. She cowered behind the boys, afraid to even meet his eyes. Yumi looked away, disgusted at the man. In the fields, she spotted the Overseer snatching the wrist of a child not much younger than Jeremie or Aelita, though at this distance that was all she could see. The man shouted at the child for a moment, and then began dragging the child towards the manor house. Yumi snarled, her vampire teeth visible under the shadow provided by the embroidered hood Aelita had made so she could walk in the sun. Laura caught Yumi's wrist. "We're outnumbered and outmatched. Don't go looking for fights you can't win." She advised.

Yumi narrowed her eyes. "The Overseer is bringing that child to torment. You suggest that I stand by and do nothing?" She asked.

Laura shook her head. "If we fight, we'll die. I'm not happy standing by either, Yumi, but what good will it do if they kill us? The punishment may be worse."

Yumi was silent, but she did not defy the Fair. She simply yanked her hand away. The guardsman appeared to accept the explanation Jeremie gave, and he let them pass. When they were out of sight of the plantation, Yumi saw Jeremie release a fist she hadn't noticed he'd been holding, his palm red and marked by his nails.

 

Night had fallen and the Colonist watched the fire. She looked up suddenly, having heard something so quiet that as a human she never would've heard it. She stalked it, finding Jeremie sneaking away from camp in the direction of the plantation. "What are you doing out of bed?" She asked, causing him to yelp before covering his mouth and spinning around. "Don't tell me you plan on sneaking away from the camp to go back to the plantation and free the slaves…" She began, ominously crossing her arms as he grew nervous. She grinned as she added, "…without me?"

Jeremie grinned. "Thank you! This will be much easier with your help." He moved closer to her as he discussed the plan. He asked her to find the slave master, and quietly he asked her to kill him. "I don't care how you do it, so long as you find and destroy any will or document that says who the slaves go to after he dies. If you can't find anything, all the better." He handed her a satchel, and it was heavy in her hands. "Put the contents of this in his office. Don't open it until you get there."

Yumi looked at the bag. "Why all the secrecy?" She asked.

Jeremie simply shook his head and said, "Trust me, it is better this way. Just… try not to get caught? I'm sure that you won't but… still."

She nodded, and as they started walking back towards the plantation, she asked, "So, while I go and murder this man, what will you be doing?"

He smiled. "I'm going to free the slaves."

Yumi smiled back, and they waited in the brush. Patrols had changed, with only a few guards in the fields. Jeremie informed her that if they moved carefully, they shouldn't tip off the patrols. She nodded, using her supernatural speed to dash along the side of the manor house. The Colonist quickly made it to the wall she believed would hold the master bedroom, and she began to scale the building. She shouldn't have been surprised, but she was impressed at how naturally this came to her. Yumi wasn't afraid of heights but she had never attempted to ascend a building in this manner.

She made it to the second floor easily, looking inside the windows until she found what she believed to be the master bedroom. Deftly, the vampire Colonist forced open the window and entered. Inside saw a rather fat man sleeping peacefully, and while at first she thought that this was the slave master's steward and she'd found the wrong room, she changed her mind when she saw the instruments of torture in the corner and on the chest of drawers.

Yumi watched him for a moment, her eyes narrowing as the focused in on his neck, a burning sensation of hunger and need filling her stomach. She forced her eyes away and willed down the sensation with a large measure of disgust. Deciding to focus on her task, she stealthily made her way around the bed, looking for any way to kill him without alerting the guards that it was murder. Silently and carefully she inspected the posts at each corner, finally noticing that one at the foot of the bed wasn't secured fully at either the top or the bottom.

She pushed on it with her newfound strength and with more noise than she'd have liked it fell into the bed, the posts and canopy collapsing onto the man's chest with a sickening crunch that forced the air from his lungs and presumably shattered his ribs. With a longing look at the trickle of blood from his mouth she retreated to the window just in time to get through and close it before two guards scrambled though the bedroom door with lit lanterns. The guard captain lifted his lantern and swung it slowly, illuminating the every corner of the room. Standing still as a statue, Yumi merely squinted against the yellow glow of the candle as the guard looked straight through her, knowing that because of her vampirism he would see only the vaguest hint of a shadow if he noticed anything at all. She watched them as best she could through the window while they investigated, noting that they were speaking quietly to themselves as they declared him dead. They left, presumably to tell the other guards, and she moved on to the second part of her assignment.

She climbed down and snuck across the elaborate halls, opening every door until she could find the office. Several times she came across a dark, empty room with heavy locks and no windows, and it made her shiver. Eventually she found the study and entered, taking a few small jewels that the Heroes could sell later and wouldn't be missed. She opened the satchel Jeremie had given her, and she discovered a small sack of gold and a letter written in Elvish. At the bottom was Xana's Eye.

This surprised her immensely. Jeremie had wanted the slave master dead so the slaves would be freed, but why would he want to frame the man for conspiring with Xana? Wasn't it enough that he was dead; why smear his name? Apprehensive, she placed the letter and the gold in a place that looked natural, and she closed her eyes to listen for the Wise Man.

 

Jeremie forced open a window after freeing as many of the slaves outside as he could. He, too, had seen the child dragged into the manner house, and he was determined to find them and any other slaves trapped within. He moved as quietly as he could through the basement, and when he saw the chains and irons clasps, he had flashbacks of his time in the vampire's lair. The Wise Man shook it off, reminding himself of the more important issue.

He moved to leave the first part of the basement, though he spotted a guard and hid behind a wall. He looked at Aelita's dagger, which he had taken from her tent before he left as a reminder of why he was doing what he was, and his fingers tightened around it. He rushed out and threw it, startling the guard and, sadly, missing him entirely. Jeremie sighed and hit his forehead with his hand. The guard drew his sword and Jeremie summoned the retractable blade on his elvish gauntlet, ducking under the swing of the sword and stabbing the guard in the gut.

He huffed, looking for other guards. He turned and saw Yumi, startling him for the second time that night. Angrily, he demanded, "Do you ever make noise when you walk?"

Yumi shook her head. "I planted the false evidence. You and I need to talk." She spat.

"Can it wait? I'm positive that there are more slaves somewhere in here." Jeremie said. He and the Colonist moved through the basement, finding a trap door to the subbasement. Yumi held it open while Jeremie climbed down, and she closed it quietly as she followed him. The subbasement was lit only by a few candles, and they found four elven slaves chained to the wall. The youngest, the child the Heroes had seen dragged off, sobbed quietly. "Yumi, help me with these chains." Jeremie ordered, and together they broke the iron chains.

The oldest woman, at most twenty-five, hugged two of the other elves, who appeared to be her twin daughters. The youngest approached Yumi and Jeremie. "What are you doing here?" She asked, snorting unattractively. She was far too thin, and her face was caked in too much makeup to be flattering. She didn't wait for them to answer, and recognizing Jeremie as the leader, she approached him. "Are you my master now?"

Jeremie jumped. "No!" He shouted.

She seemed very confused. "But I can cook. I can clean! What else am I supposed to do?"

Yumi stepped in. "You're free now. You can do whatever you want."

"I'm… free? I don't understand. A slave is all I've ever been." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry. This must've been terrible for you," Jeremie said.

The young slave looked almost shocked by his comment, and she moved out of the way as the other three women fled. "Everything was fine until today!" She argued.

Yumi took her shoulders. "It wasn't. You just didn't know any better."

The girl looked into Yumi's orange eyes. She seemed apprehensive, but she grabbed the bottom of her tunic and fiddled with it. "I… suppose I could follow the others." She whispered, climbing out of the subbasement.

Jeremie motioned to the ladder. "We should go too, before morning comes and the guards learn what we've done."

 

Now away from the plantation, Yumi caught Jeremie's shoulder. "Why did you frame the slave master of working with Xana?" She demanded. "Wasn't it enough that you had me murder him? Why did he have to be working with Xana?"

Jeremie sighed. "I knew I should've told you not to open the letter," He mumbled. "Listen, even if Replika is an enemy of Lyoko now, they have to know that Xana is the larger problem. If they thought that the slave master was working with her, they would take away all his assets, and in Replika, slaves are set free if property is confiscated. It was just a precaution in the event that the will was off-location or if we couldn't free all of the slaves. This way, at least they won't be given to family."

Yumi folded her arms. "Yes, but you've not only made it impossible for the slaves to be given to his next of kin but also made it impossible to give his family anything, even if they had nothing to do with his use of slaves. Not to mention you had me smear the name of a dead man. Where's the fairness in that?"

"He's dead. What does he care about fairness?" Jeremie asked.

"You're missing the point!" She hissed. "It isn't about being fair to him! Listen, in my life, I've murdered a lot of people. Mostly those who have threatened my friends or family, but that was as far as it went. I've never framed anyone."

"Well, now you have. Add it to your résumé." He said flatly.

Yumi shook. "What is wrong with you?! You hate killing people and yet here you are, colder than the snow we're walking on! Find your humanity!"

He stopped. "Funny words, coming from a vampire." He hissed as he turned. "You want me to find my humanity? That was the most humane thing to do for those poor people! Do you think we could have diplomatically asked for the man to just let the slaves go? What do you think he would have said?"

"You didn't have to frame him for treason!" Yumi argued, her heart hurting when he called her a vampire.

"So, you think that way, do you?" He asked. "You saw what happened there! There's always going to be some reason, some excuse why people will need to subjugate someone else! Money, power, I can't even imagine how far the list goes!" He stared her down. "But you've seen what happens when that desire gets the better of them, and you've heard what happened to Aelita. But I've seen more! I've seen, touched even, her physical scars and there are more that I can't do anything about! You saw how she reacted to the sound of the whip. You saw how afraid she was when the guard stopped us. What we've done here has helped these people, even if they don't yet know it. But it won't change what happened or what will happen, so we have to do whatever it takes to prevent it, and if that means framing the lowest of pond scum of treason then gods be my witness, that's what I'll do!"

Yumi would've cried, had she been able to. "So this is all because you feel guilty? You couldn't have done anything about what happened to Aelita, but that's no reason to—"

"I KNOW I COULDN'T HELP HER!" Jeremie shouted. "You think that I don't? But I can help her and hundreds more like her now, and I will do anything—anything—to keep it from happening again!" He shrugged as he started to walk away. "I guess you don't want to help her like I do. What can you expect from a vampire?"

Yumi broke in that moment. "Jeremie!" She called out to him. She crossed her arms to hold her shoulders, following him back to camp, an ugly emotion growing heavy in her stomach. Did she still feel badly for framing a dead man of treason, or had Jeremie's words filled her with guilt? Or was this something else entirely?

Had her vampirism changed her? Was she cold to the plight of others? It couldn't be. She was stronger now, but was it worth it if her heart cooled to the point of being frozen? She rubbed her hands together. They were cold. Yumi reminded herself this was because technically she was dead, and she had no way of warming the walking corpse she'd become. Even now as she warmed her hands near the fire she was still cold. How fearful she'd been when the others told her she was a vampire, how worried she had been that she would become a monster.

She was still afraid, she realized, so much so that her very hands trembled. But was she afraid of becoming the monster that the loss of her humanity implied? Yes. Yumi decided that if she was to be a vampire, she would still be human on the inside. No matter what Jeremie said, she told herself as the sun rose and she pulled her hood over her head, she would retain her humanity.

 

1st of Verimensis, 5:09 Guardian

"Happy New Year!" Odd shouted cheerfully as he climbed out of his tent. "New year, new me, am I right?" He said, nudging the others with his elbow.

Laura rolled her eyes. "I'm more interested in taking down Xana. New year, old enemy?" She suggested.

Yumi smiled. "I don't care who our enemy is, so long as we can get our normal lives back after this is all over."

Jeremie shook his head, obviously still upset about the night before. "Things won't ever be the same. Even if we go home after this, it won't feel like home." He hissed.

Aelita sensed the tension and took one of both Heroes' hands. "Just promise me that no matter what happens in the future, we'll all still be friends!" She smiled. The two night assassins seemed unwilling to make peace, but Yumi offered the first smile, and reluctantly but honestly, Jeremie returned it.

Laura folded her arms as Ulrich and Odd took the free hands of Jeremie and Yumi. "I'm not sure that 'being friends once this is over' is exactly, how you say, 'in the cards'." She said.

Ulrich furrowed his brows and offered his hand to her. "Shut up and just hold hands!" He shouted. Laura looked away, but she took his hand.

 

Yumi took shelter in the aravel as the group stopped for the midday meal. She pushed back the cloak that shielded her head and face from the damaging rays of the sun and sighed. Her tireless body, abnormal strength and vision and for the ability to walk freely in the sun again, she'd give it up without hesitation. Or maybe she would do it for less, just not to be so different. Aelita hadn't grimaced when she took the lifeless appendage into her smaller, warmer hand. But Odd had, and it seemed he couldn't wait to let go. Or perhaps it only seemed that way because he had to grind his hands together for warmth after they'd released their grip.

She felt something hot against her skin, the beginnings of a burning sensation that she knew all too well. She had strayed too close to the covered window and the sunlight that filtered through was having a small effect. She'd have to feed as she learned that the longer she went without blood the more dangerous sunlight would become to her. The thought of drinking the blood of her friends turned her stomach. The idea of draining the corpse of an enemy was only slightly better. She could wait though. She wasn't ready to ask.


	38. Winter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter has been brought you by Lost Lantean! I should also mention that the end of Episode 5 was written by Lost Lantean as well.

Episode 8: Cortex

8th of Verimensis

 

Yumi walked around the camp, her unnaturally sharp eyes turned up to look into the mostly cloudy sky above. A steady, cold breeze chilled the night air though Yumi did not shiver even though she knew she should. Instead she brought her gaze back down to earth and examined her pale hands as she made her way around the camp. A creature of the night, she had agreed that it was pointless to have any of the others stay up to keep watch when she needed no sleep and was immune to the biting cold. She agreed with the logic but it felt wrong all the same. A shared burden pressed on her because of her misfortune. Or perhaps the constant reminder of no longer being human was the reason watch duty sat so heavily. She longed to sleep properly, and sighed bitterly as she glanced around the collection of tents and thought of the warm, fresh blood filled- Quashing the thought she turned back towards the fire.

As she walked she focused on her enhanced senses. Even at a distance, the pop and crackle of the campfire was clear and distinct. So was Odd's snoring and Ulrich's steady breathing. A rustle of clothing and covers came from Laura's tent and Yumi wondered how the girl managed to rest given how much she seemed to toss and turn. From Aelita's tent there was silence and from Jeremie's the sound of gentle kisses. She had considered stopping Aelita when the younger elf snuck out, but she chose not to. The two teens were old enough and she wouldn't really want to be on the receiving end if she were to ever go sneaking to the enviable warmth of another. Her eyes drifted to Ulrich's tent and stayed there, helping tune out the sound of Jeremie and Aelita.

 

Aelita took in a quick breath then felt Jeremie press his lips to hers once more, hugging her just a little bit tighter as she deepened the kiss. When they separated with another audible pop she continued backwards, catching the look of disappointment on Jeremie's face and giving him a sly smile in return. Slowly she released the hold she had on his neck, her arms sliding gently across his shoulders until only her hands rested loosely on them. The confused and almost hurt look begged for attention and she whispered "watch." Jeremie did, taking his hands off of her waist he watched as she slipped out of her heavy nightshirt with slow grace that shouldn't have been possible in the relatively confined space of his tent.

She shivered, her breast cloth not providing all that much protection from the somewhat chilly air, and relaxed, her fear and nervousness subsiding as she took in Jeremie's expression. So much desire, so much want in his eyes yet it was tempered into something entirely different than what she had seen in so many nameless faces. His desire was mixed with awe and wonder and embarrassment and his very own fear. Smiling nervously she reached behind herself, fingers brushing the scars as they went for the tie that would reveal the fullness of her chest.

Jeremie took in the sight on his girlfriend, seeing her semi-nude form in new light despite the darkness. Seeing her smooth, unblemished stomach, the gentle rise of the remaining garment, the slope of her arms as she reached backwards, the damaged skin that started on the back of her shoulder blades and the look of apprehension as she paused. He met her eyes in that moment, reaching out and gently guiding her to turn around. She did so only haltingly and looked back questioningly when he pulled lightly, getting her to sit down with her back facing him. He let his fingers skim over the ugly ridges of mottled scar tissue that marred the surface of her back, tracing down one scar and back up the other as tears began to cascade down his cheeks.

"Jeremie, what are you do…" Her harsh whisper trailed off in the middle of the last word when she heard a sniffle behind her. Cautiously she turned her head to look over her shoulder to see his lips quivering and possibly tracks of wetness down his face. He continued to trace lightly over the scars and her first angry thoughts faded as a new idea took hold. "Jeremie?" She whispered more gently. "Jeremie, what do you see?"

His answer came back ragged from the effort it was taking him not to sob. "Pain. Sorrow. Fear. Guilt."

She leaned back against him. "You can't change my past."

"I… I know. But how many others have to… To learn to count pain? To know nothing but cruelty? To live what… What you…"

"Shhh, Jeremie. Shhh." Aelita shushed gently. She picked up his hands and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "You can't help everyone and you can't fix the world." When he didn't respond she reached around behind herself and gently guided Jeremie's quivering chin to rest on her shoulder. She leaned her head against his. "Why did you kiss the scars on my shoulder that one night?" She asked quietly.

He swallowed hard and took a moment longer to compose himself. "I think… I wanted you know that I don't find them as repulsive as you may think?"

"No." Aelita replied kindly.

"No?" he replied defensively.

"No." She responded more firmly. "Maybe." She then conceded. "You know my past, what I've told everyone. Will you promise me that this stays here, between us?"

"Of course."

Aelita closed her eyes and placed her hands over Jeremie's, feeling him tighten his grip on her in response. "I've had to dance in outfits more revealing than this. I've been leered at, grabbed at, examined..." She shuddered as she said the word and quickly added "I probably know more disgusting names for parts of my body than Odd does," with forced humor. With a shake of her head she continued "No one who thinks they can have me finds my scars so disgusting."

"You find them to be hideous." Jeremie interjected, "perhaps not physically but emotionally."

"And so do you. You see everything negative they represent and you feel guilty, responsible." She went on in the same low, kind tone of voice she started with. "When you kissed my shoulder I was amazed at how that felt. I couldn't believe you'd willingly kiss something so disgusting, so associated with bad memories and I cherished what I thought that meant." Her gaze dropped to where Jeremie's hands rested against her bare abdomen securely cocooned in her own. "You can touch me all you want, anywhere you want. I've never been comfortable like this with anyone and I really do like it. But I beg you not to do so because you feel guilty about what I've been through or about what those like me have or are going though. I can't be a touchstone for that guilt, neither of us can bear all the world's sins, and you can't wish away that which helped make me the person I am and bring me to you."

 

Ulrich's breathing changed, which happened to be the first sign of something more. Then there was the rustling of fabric, more pronounced than the noise Laura made when she moved in her sleep. The sound of the flap opening though is what startled Yumi into action. For a moment she feared that perhaps she'd let her guard down too much so she bolted up and rushed towards his tent. She stopped herself just in time to avoid an embarrassing situation as Ulrich came out, dressed in heavy fabric and partially into his coat. Still she startled him and he turned quickly, but a little slowly to her enhanced perception, towards her, his hand already reaching down to a weapon that wasn't actually there. "Yumi!" He whispered harshly.

"Yeah, just um… patrolling." She answered sheepishly with a weird grin, "usual night shift stuff."

"All quiet?" Ulrich asked, feeling stupid the moment the words were out of his mouth.

"Of course."

The silence stretched awkwardly and Ulrich finally cleared his throat, "If you don't mind I need…"

"Oh, right" She recovered when he nodded in the direction of the designated tree. "Sorry." She turned back towards the fire and walked, hiding her embarrassment. One thing about being undead, she couldn't blush. She turned her attention to Jeremie's tent and quickly turned back towards Odd's since the couple was still engaged in making out.

Ulrich returned from the tree and then headed towards the fire, sitting down heavily near but not right beside Yumi and sticking his hands out to warm them. He glanced to his side and wondered what about Odd's tent she found so interesting. But then again, Odd was a werewolf and hated Vampires so he guessed she was worried. Although it didn't make much sense seeing as they knew Odd was in control of his powers and it wasn't a full moon either. He returned his gaze to the fire. "Everything alright?"

She returned her attention to the jumping orange and yellow flames. Her eyes resolved the blue edges along the wood and the little bits of ash circulating in the hot air around them. She could see the wood blister and pop as it burned, the sight as mesmerizing as it was potentially dangerous. Forcing a smile to her lips she answered "Yeah, I'm fine," absently. She turned her attention to Aelita's tent.

"So nothing to do with Odd being a werewolf?" He followed her gaze to Aelita's tent. "Or… Concerned about how much of Aelita's blood you've… uh… drank… earlier?" He looked down at his feet and pulled his hands back to himself. "I can check on her if you'd like." He got up and was quickly pulled back by a cold hand.

"No." Yumi answered quickly, "she's fine."

"Are you sure?" Ulrich asked looking between Yumi and the Outcast's tent. "Because it's no big deal to go check."

"I can hear her." Yumi hissed, "I know she's fine."

"Alright." Ulrich answered with his hands raised up in a show of defeat. With that he turned towards his own tent and was half way back when he looked over his shoulder to see Yumi listening intently. Her head was canted to the side and her body was stiff suggesting that something in the direction of Jeremie's tent had startled her. He was instantly on edge and missing his blade as he started back towards Yumi, keeping his eyes on the area between Jeremie and Aelita's tents. "What is it?" he whispered?

She held up a finger to signify she wanted quiet and he complied, straining his eyes to scan the sector past the camp she appeared to be concentrating on. After a long tense few moments she relaxed and gestured for him to sit down. He did, asking what she heard and getting an unsatisfactory "nothing threatening" for an answer.

"You don't go to alert for nothing." He answered hotly but still whispering. "And…" He continued in a less heated voice "you seemed awfully fast to keep me away from Aelita's tent. What's going on?"

"Nothing, everything's fine."

"Yumi?"

"You saw her after I fed, she was perfectly fine."

Now the real worry showed in his voice "Yumi?"

"Ulrich." Yumi said seriously, "Promise me no big brother crap."

"She's with Jeremie, isn't she?" Now Ulrich had no idea what to think or feel. "You were listening to them what, exactly?" He demanded, the mix of emotions coloring his voice.

"They were kissing and now they're talking."

"About?" he growled.

If she still drew breath she would have sighed deeply. Instead she reached out and grabbed Ulrich by his sleeved arm. "Her emotional scars and how they can deal with them."

"Oh." He shrank back and when Yumi released her vice like grip on his arm he sat down heavily. "That's all. I…"

"Yeah." Yumi answered.

Another long silence followed, growing more and more difficult to endure between them. Finally Ulrich broke it with a yawn. "I guess I'll head back to bed. Good night, Yumi; stay warm."

That snapped her back out of doing anything but thinking about the silence. "Ulrich… You know I can't." She admitted sadly.

He turned and walked up to her. "We'll find a way to cure you."

"What if we can't?"

Not normally ones to embrace touch, Ulrich gathered his courage and reached out to take Yumi's hand. She pulled back, earning a rare hurt look from the Mercenary. Hesitantly she offered her hand and he took it and rubbed it between his own, suppressing the shudder coming from holding the cold, not quite right flesh. "If we can't… Maybe Aelita or Laura can come up with some means of keeping you warm." He forced himself to smile and continued to rub her hand. "Or maybe we can just go somewhere where there isn't winter."

She smiled back, and although it was forced, it was more than she'd offered since being turned.

 

Cortex was the largest city in Replika, and unlike cities in Lyoko, it wasn't very inviting. Its walls were very tall and made of dark stone, and if someone looked at the walls from the corner of their eye, they almost looked like they were moving. In the center of the city was a large dome, almost like one of the coliseums, but it was closed off and it looked far from entertaining. The walls also appeared to be smooth; there were no arches that created space for statues of the gods.

The Heroes were outside of the city now, remaining in the brush as Laura prepared her illusions. She changed her hair color to a light brown and her eyes to a dull blue. She changed some of her facial features as well, hoping that she looked enough like Ulrich that if she needed to, she could pass as his sister or cousin. She braided her hair and pulled it up, which further distanced her from her true appearance.

Yumi, who had volunteered to go ahead and collect information from the nearby bulletin board, sprinted back towards her friends, carrying a piece of weather-worn parchment in her hand. She gave it to Jeremie, and despite it obviously being damaged, the information seemed to be intact. Painted on the parchment was a picture of Aelita, with her full name and known aliases printed bellow. "Aelita's a wanted woman in Cortex. They must still be looking for her." Yumi said. She didn't even seem tired.

Jeremie glared at Laura. "I thought you said that your father pardoned Aelita, or at least refused to allow guards to search for her?"

"He did. I suppose the people of Replika want to see…" She almost said 'justice' but Jeremie had been on edge about Aelita's past for the past few days. She quickly reconsidered her statement, and instead said, "…to have revenge. Finson wanted to see Replika free from Lyoko's control. I think he just wanted to live under Replika's tax laws."

Odd laughed. "You know what they say about taxes!"

Aelita sighed. "Does this mean I have to go in disguise too?" She asked. She shook her head and dug around in her, Jeremie and Odd's bags, pulling out a wig, bandages and spare clothes. She took the army green hat that Ulrich had bought in the last town over from his head and placed it on her pile of clothes. She disappeared into the aravel and didn't reappear for almost half an hour.

In that short time, Aelita had gone from the bubbly young woman they knew to a rather lanky-looking young man. The wig, which was slightly shorter than shoulder-length and red, disguised her cheekbones and gave her a more masculine appearance, and she'd used Yumi's face paint to cover her facial vallaslin. The bandages that had once covered her legs for modesty were not visible, and they simply assumed she'd used them to bind her breasts. She awkwardly fixed the hat on her head. Perhaps it was because they knew it was her, but none of the Heroes seemed to identify her as a boy—she looked like a strange cross of male and female. "I think it would be safest if you didn't refer to me at all, but if you must, call me 'Tathas'."

"Have you often disguised yourself androgynously?" Laura asked snippily.

'Tathas' seemed flustered. "Sometimes, if I could get away with it. Usually I didn't have the resources, unless I stole them and that's… not something I like to do." She shifted uncomfortably, as if wearing a disguise was shameful and she was embarrassed to be doing it in front of her friends. "I used this kind of disguise to enter Capital Lyoko. I started wearing my own clothes and bore my true face after Mr. Delmas called me on it and offered me a job. I still used the name Tathas, though."

Ulrich folded his arms. "Does it mean something to you?"

Aelita smiled. "Tathas is a folk hero from before the Surface Wars. She was a slave but escaped and made it to Carthage. There she saw first-hand what injustices our people went through, even if they are 'free'. She was a skilled trickster, and she stole from every noble in the city and then some. Tathas also set up a secret slave underground, where you could go to escape or to get help if you are escaping." She fiddled with her fingers. "Many elves name their sons and daughters after her."

"Why didn't you keep the name Tathas, then?" He asked.

"Tathas is not my name." Aelita said simply.

"But you gave me your real name when I contacted you that first time." Jeremie said. He held up his hand when Laura tried to argue that it was not, in fact, her real name.

She smiled again. "I know this may sound strange, or perhaps completely insane, but I suppose I just… trusted you, right from the start, even though we had never met." Aelita looked down at her bare toes, and she pulled on the boots. Even after all of this time, she had not yet gotten used to wearing shoes. She couldn't wait until the snow melted and the spring flowers bloomed, especially the yellow mountain flowers. Those had been her favorites for many years. The Outcast looked up to find the other Heroes were looking at her strangely. "Anyway, we should get moving."

The others agreed, and they began to move into the city. The guards seemed suspicious of them, and many times they were stopped 'randomly' so their belongings could be searched. They did, however, make it to the city, though their welcome was anything but warm.

The poor gathered near the gates. They consisted of Cortex's own beggars, as well as refugees, orphans and the disabled. They pleaded for food or coin, though the Heroes had little of either to spare—without salt Odd's hunting conquests didn't keep long, and vegetables were hard to find. Their coin was spent on bribes, bread and wine, as well weapons and armor when they could afford it. The entire cesspool reeked of death, and soon they learned why. Corpses filled the alleyways, stripped of clothes, valuables and dignity. Laura visibly gagged at the sight, Aelita moved closer to Jeremie and Ulrich covered his nose and mouth. Yumi and Odd both tried to hide their shameful hunger.

"Not only is this despicable, it's dangerous," Ulrich said through clenched nostril. "With the tear in the Veil, this is a recipe for a zombie outbreak. Not to mention the diseases that might spread when the rats get to them."

"These poor people!" Aelita mourned. "This is… ghastly!"

Sadly, Jeremie ordered the group to proceed. He looked back over his shoulder, having flashbacks to his time in the vampire's dungeon, and nervously he shot a glance at Yumi. He scolded himself for lumping the two.

When they were far away from the smell, the Wise Man explained the plan. The first and most important thing was to secure safe passage to Carthage—though admittedly this would be difficult. Cortex would only send military ships to the island city. Merchants were forbidden to go to Carthage because of the sanctions, and private ships were being prepared in case Xana's attacks became worse or moved closer to Cortex.

However, the spirit bird Jeremie had sent to Patrick via the Eluvian had returned three days earlier with a letter—this in itself was impressive, and suggested Patrick had a way with spirits that allowed him to return what was typically a one-way missive. Jeremie's cousin had disclosed that he would assist if he was able, and to look for him in Cortex. Most of the Heroes were pleased to hear this and perceived it as good news. Jeremie and Aelita, on the other hand, seemed apprehensive about speaking openly with a magistrate.

To accomplish their goals, the Heroes spilt up. Originally, Jeremie had intended to find Patrick alone, but Odd argued that it wasn't safe to walk about Cortex alone in its current condition. He hid how nice he would be to see Patrick again under his breath. Together they decided that Jeremie and Odd would go meet Patrick at the tavern he'd written in his letter, and the others would go to the docks and find safe passage.

 

The alehouse, the Hero and Blade, was, like most places, filled with people. Many were brutes, likely mercenaries. It had a musky smell to it, and everything about the place seemed foggy. "Remind me not to drink here," Jeremie whispered to Odd.

In the back of the tavern, Odd pointed to a boy their age, and to a young elven woman who sat across from him. As they got closer, they learned that it was indeed Patrick, and the woman who sat with him was none other than Sam, the ex-werewolf. Both of them had changed—Patrick no longer wore his magistrate armor, likely due to the unpopular opinion that Replika held of the magistrates. Instead he wore leather armor, though his rapier remained at his side. Sam's hair had grown longer, but it was messy, and dark circles had collected under tired eyes. However, there was strength that both exuded, and trust in their conversation. Odd felt jealousy rise in his throat, but was he jealous of Patrick, or of Sam?

"Jeremie!" Patrick called out, and he rose to hug his cousin. Jeremie simply held up his hand, and awkwardly, Patrick backed away. "I'm so glad to see you. I was so afraid that you'd died."

"Honestly, I was afraid that you had died too." Jeremie admitted. "But that isn't why I'm here."

"You implied as much in your letter." Patrick said. He motioned to the chair next to him, and Jeremie took it. Odd took the chair next to Sam. "Now, tell me, what is it this time? Has Laura become so obsessed with proving Aelita is a blood magician that she's been possessed?"

Odd smirked and opened his mouth, which resulted only in a swift kick to the knee from Jeremie. "No, nothing like that. I'm afraid to discuss much of it here." He said. "Just know that we have a bit of a… potentially parasitic problem."

"Triple 'p'! You win the bonus round." Odd said.

Patrick looked to his cousin. "That… raises more questions than it answers."

As the cousins spoke, the former lovers conversed in hushed tones. "How long have you been travelling with Patrick?" Odd asked.

Sam thought for a while. "Since the attack on Kadic, I guess. We became friends before then, however." She said. "While the other magistrates teased me during my recovery, Patrick brought me extra food and blankets. He was good to me."

"So… are you two… an item, then?" He asked.

She laughed. "That's just like you. Assume that two people travelling together are having sex." She shook her head. "No. We made it very clear when we escaped Kadic that neither of us wanted just a physical relationship, nor did we want to ruin our friendship. I envy the woman who steals his heart, though."

"I… see. Of course." Odd muttered. "And… what about you? How are you feeling since you were cured?"

Sam sighed in relief. "Wonderfully tired. Sometimes… sometimes it feels strange to tire so quickly, but other times… other times I feel so clearheaded that I know—I just know—that I was supposed to feel this way." She took Odd's hand softly. Her hands were so cold, or was he just warm? "Listen to me, Odd. You're starting to go mad. I might've been far gone, but you have until your irises turn white to cure yourself. If you don't… you're gone forever."

Odd took his hand away. "Thanks for the advice, but I'm in control." He hissed.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Are you really?"

Odd thought for a while. For some reason, he thought back to Talia, but it was only briefly before he thought about the boy he'd killed in the alley. "No." He admitted so quietly that it was barely audible.

Jeremie smiled. "You'll be more informed as we go along." He stood. "Anyway, we should all head for the docks. Hopefully the others have found a ship."

 

The others had not found a ship.

Which was not the entire truth. They had actually found many boats, but none of them were headed towards Carthage. It was frustrating, seeing so many boats and being unable to go where they needed to.

Deciding to go to the dock directory, they passed a bar called 'the Singing Scoundrel'. It was run-down and filthy but it sold cheap drinks and meals, which was likely why it hosted so many sailors. The Heroes jumped when a dwarf was thrown out of a nearby window, shouting something in his native tongue. Then the dwarf stood and started singing, and Aelita identified it as an old pirate shanty. "Pirates," Ulrich repeated, and he grabbed Yumi's arms. "Pirates!"

Laura sighed. "Please tell me that you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking." He laughed and ran inside of the bar. "Minerva's mercy, he is thinking what I think he's thinking."

The girls followed him inside, though Laura was reluctant to. Inside were sailors of every size, race and color, and to be honest, it was nearly impossible to tell who was a true mariner and who was a swashbuckler. Aelita stayed close to Yumi.

Near the bar, leaning forward, was an elf with long black hair. She wore a magenta vest over an orange shirt, with leather strappings holding valuable daggers. She wore long blue pants, a half-skirt and more leather strappings around her waist, holding various explosive containers. Her feet were covered in leather boots, and judging by their style, they came from Deutschland. She turned to look at something, and on her nose, she wore a pair of spectacles.

The elf looked at Aelita, and she narrowed her eyes. She asked the bartender to hold her drinks, and she walked over to the teenagers. She looked to be about Yumi's age. "…Aelita? Neptune's soaked ass, it is you, isn't it?"

"Aelita?" The Outcast feigned innocence, "I do not know this name. I am Tathas."

"Uh-huh. You must think I just rolled off a cart full of stupid, don't you." She said. The elf folded her arms. "Come on! Don't pretend like you don't know me. I'll give you a hint. It starts with 'a' and ends in 'rak-Muna'."

Aelita's eyes widened. "…Emily?" She asked.

Laura sighed. "What's the point of a disguise if you aren't going to follow through?"

Emily smiled, and the two elves embraced. "You really should be in black or pink. Or floral. They flatter you." She advised the Outcast on fashion.

Aelita laughed. "I'll remember that the next time I go dress shopping."

"Anyway, are you going to introduce me to…" She caught sight of Ulrich, and she smiled. "… your friends?" Aelita introduced them, and Emily curtsied, though the action was wobbly and almost drunken. "My name is Emily 'the Duchess' LeDuc. I'm the captain of the ship not too far from here, 'Skidbladnir'."

Ulrich and Yumi grinned. "Maybe you can help us, then." Yumi said. "We need a ship to take us to Carthage."

"Carthage? What a journey." Emily said. She looked at Aelita. "The People will not miss you?" When she looked down at her toes, Emily had all the information she needed from that question. "I might be able to get you there."

Laura groaned. "Here it comes… here it comes…"

The captain thought. "But… you seem like the kind of people who could hoist the mainsail…"

Ulrich chuckled. "When you talk about 'hoisting the mainsail,' what are you really saying?" He asked.

"What else? It requires strength, knowledge of rigging and a small measure of sobriety." Emily laughed.

"I know my way around rigging just fine, and I'm good with my hands." The Mercenary said, earning him an elbow jab from Yumi. He didn't seem to understand what he'd done wrong.

Emily laughed again. "Oh, my." She shook her head, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Anyway, I could use you to help me with a little problem of mine. I was hired to… ship some cargo to a buyer on an island a few hundred leagues out to sea, but someone from my past has been pestering me. I've arranged for a duel, but I don't trust him to play fair, and I can't leave the city until he's taken care of."

Laura hit her head with her palm. "I knew it! There's always a catch!"

"Life is a catch. I suggest you catch it while you can." Emily said. "Anyway, if I win, I can leave with the goods. If I lose… well, that's where you come in."

Aelita seemed eager to agree, but the others hesitated. Yumi offered only, "We should talk to Jeremie before we agree to anything."

Emily nodded. "I can understand that. Talk to whoever is in charge of you, and if you decide to help, meet me at Jaufre's Warehouse tonight at ten after nine, which in case you didn't know, is forty minutes after curfew." She laughed as she walked out of the bar. "Don't get caught, and don't be late."

The four teenagers watched her go. "Strange girl," Yumi said.

"Nice girl," Aelita added.

"She's strong." Ulrich said quietly.


	39. Winter 9

Episode 9: a Favor of Open Seas

8th of Verimensis

 

As evening fell across Cortex, the two groups met up at the room Partick and Sam had rented from a local inn. Ulrich briefed Jeremie on the possible transportation they had found and he was, to put it nicely, less than pleased. Aelita butted in, offering her reassurance that Emily was a friend and could be trusted but he wasn't swayed, answering with "Pirates ship slaves and smuggle illegal goods to supply criminals! You can't expect me to work with one in good conscience!"

Yumi muttered something under her breath, and Patrick eyed her suspiciously. She glared back at him. She suspected that he knew her secret and was only holding his tongue for the sake of his cousin. Aelita took Jeremie's hands and pleaded, "Emily is a good person! She would never sell slaves or supply illegal goods! She just needs us to provide backup, and we'll be on our way to Carthage in no time!" She smiled warmly at him, having abandoned her wig and cap but keeping the remainder of her disguise on. She'd tied her short hair back, and he freed one of his hands so he could push a stray hair out of her face. Aelita smiled, leaning her head against his hand, and she added calmly, "After all, she did help me escape the Gypsy."

Patrick sat up straighter. "The Gypsy? What is that, a slaver ship?" He asked innocently.

Jeremie glared at him and angrily shouted it was none of his business. Odd scoffed and leaned closer to the magistrate. "If he were my cousin, I'd ask for an annulment."

Patrick chuckled. "He's not so bad, as I'm sure you've observed." He listened quietly as Jeremie, Yumi, Laura, Ulrich and Aelita argued about whether or not to take Emily's offer. "By the way, what's going on between him and Aelita? I know that they were dating when you guys came to Kadic, but… something has changed. Or is it just me?"

Odd hesitated. "I don't know what's safe to tell. Also, Aelita's paying me to keep quiet about some things."

He grinned. "Paying you in what? Silver? Don't you all share your coin?"

"Most of it, but of course we all have our own purses." Odd stretched. "But she's giving me some coin and string."

"String?"

"…I'm easily amused."

Patrick laughed loudly, obviously at an awkward time as the others, even Sam, looked at him. He covered his mouth embarrassedly, covering his remaining giggles. Ulrich folded his arms and said, "Listen, either we meet Emily at Jaufre's warehouse or we don't. Just know that if we don't we're likely stuck here until either Xana attacks or the sundered Veil brings the zombie apocalypse to Cortex."

Laura opened her eyes wider. "I hadn't thought of it that way." She folded her hands together. "If those are our options… then I don't think we've got a choice. We've got to trust the kn—the pirate." She pushed stray hair behind her ear. "I wouldn't normally suggest that we work with a criminal, but I suppose that's the least of our problems."

Yumi grinned, a slight twinkle in her eye. "Then the group votes in favor of trusting Emily?" She suggested, "Majority rules, no?"

Jeremie looked gently at Aelita, who smiled at him. "Very well. Where is Jaufre's warehouse?" He asked.

Sam crossed her legs. "Near the docks. He's a fish merchant. Don't need the wolf to smell that." She said. She twisted her red locks. "You know, I never liked fish."

"Right. Then we should get moving. I hope that Emily doesn't expect us to do anything illegal." Jeremie said.

The Heroes began to walk for the door, and Odd stood to follow them. Patrick shot up. "Wait! I'm coming with you!"

Jeremie froze, and he turned. "Like Tartarus you are!" He cursed.

Patrick crossed his arm, refusing to back down. "Listen, Jeremie. From the way you all talk… you're in serious trouble. It's not like me to pry, and I'm sure that I'm the last person that you want to talk to about this, but it's my duty as a magistrate to protect the citizens of the mortal realm from danger." He narrowed his eyes. "And where you all tend to go, dangers follow. And besides…" he smirked slightly, "you never did tell me why you called me here."

Jeremie scowled, and he looked like he was about to argue. Laura spoke up. "I think it would be a good thing to bring a magistrate along with us on our journey. After all, we often encounter monsters and hostile witches."

"Do not forget that I can silence magicians just like a magistrate!" The Wise Man said.

Sam stood and walked next to Patrick. "There's more to being a magistrate than just silencing magicians. There's a resistance to dark magic, and access to otherwise classified information and equipment." She said.

Jeremie's eyes flashed briefly to Aelita, and then to Odd, who stood closest to the pair. The Scout nodded, as if he approved. "Very well, but you follow my lead, do you understand? I'm in charge here." He warned.

Patrick smiled, and he grabbed his rapier. Sam attached her own weapons to her belt, and the two non-Heroes followed the other teenagers out of the door.

 

Emily tossed a copper piece up into the air, catching it again. She'd been waiting for hours, and she was beginning to wonder if the others had abandoned her. She spotted a group of people standing in the shadows, and she jumped behind some boxes. Soon, she spotted the brown-haired human boy that had accompanied Aelita into the tavern. She smiled slightly, and Emily jumped over the crates.

She waved at them, surprised to see so many had joined the young elvhen girl. She spotted four new members of the party—an unhappy-looking blond human, another human who looked similar to the stern one despite being more handsome and happier, an elf with vallaslin despite not appearing to be a wilder, and a Halfling.

Emily approached them, and the blond stepped between her and the others. She stopped in her tracks, confused. "You're Emily 'the Duchess' then?" He asked.

"Yep, that's me! Captain of the Skidbladnir!" She smiled. "And I don't believe we've met. You are…?"

He introduced himself as Jeremie, and the others did as well. "Now, I want to know what we'll be doing for you. Ae… Tathas said that you were a pirate?"

Emily seemed confused for a moment. "Oh, right! 'Tathas'!" She laughed. "If everything goes according to plan, you won't have to do anything."

They seemed surprised to hear this. "You would give us safe passage to Carthage in exchange for nothing?" Sam asked. "That… can't be! There's always a catch to things like that!"

Emily smiled at Laura. "I suppose you already know what I say to people who talk about catches, no?" She looked back to the other elf. "The catch to this is I don't trust Laugri to play fair. If he doesn't, then he'll bring reinforcements. Or, if his skills outmatch mine, I want you to help me cheat."

"You're going to cheat in a duel?" Ulrich asked, surprised.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm a pirate. That's just what I do." She cooed, touching his shoulder gently. She could've sworn that she saw Yumi's eyes glow red when she did.

Jeremie considered this. "Is the duel set to take place in the warehouse?" Emily nodded. He looked to Odd and Yumi. "How many people do you hear within?"

Both closed their eyes. After looking at each other, Yumi replied, "Just the one."

Jeremie looked to Laura. "How quietly can you cast spells?"

She folded her arms. 'What do I look like to you, a spy? I don't do stealth, Jeremie. My spells are loud and proud. They have to be, or they don't work as well."

He turned to Aelita. "What about you?"

"I've learned to hide my magic well, remember? I can cast spells without people even noticing." She smiled.

Jeremie took in this information. "Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, I want the three of you to join Emily inside of the warehouse. Tathas, wait for Yumi's signal and then transform into a small animal so you can watch the fight. Rig it if you have to. Laura, Patrick, Sam—you three will stay with me. Yumi will tell us if we're needed."

Ulrich approached his friend. "Are you sure it's safe for you to be out here? No one is supposed to be on the streets after curfew, so if the guards see you, they'll attack."

Jeremie nodded. "And we'll fight back. We may not be as skilled in battle as you, Ulrich, but we're not helpless."

Emily nodded. "Okay then. We're going inside."

Emily pushed open the door to the warehouse, and she looked around before waving the three Heroes in. Aelita rushed to stand close to the door, remaining within sight of Yumi. Jeremie and the others joined her, doing their best to remain in the shadows.

The pirate queen disarmed several traps, and she smiled as she looked around. "Laugri! Where are you, you filthy swab?" She called out.

A tall man with fair skin and hair appeared out of the shadows. "Emily. I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up." Ulrich studied his armor and his war paint—his armor was adorned with furs and feathers, and his war paint made him resemble an artic troll-bear. He realized that this man was a Tundrastrider—one of the few who didn't leave the original homeland of the humans after the Ice Age, which preceded the Origin Age. The land was considered virtually uninhabitable for almost one hundred years, which is why the humans left to conquer Elvhenan. They called the old country 'the Tundrastride', and it was believed that none of the Remnants, another name for Tundrastriders, had survived. Obviously, this presumption was wrong and provided new opportunities for colonization. "In fact, I'm surprised you knew where to find me."

Emily folded her arms. "Tell your men to burn the letters next time." Her fingers twitched, and the Heroes knew she was preparing to strike.

Laugri laughed. "Where's Duncan's money?" He said, his smile vanishing and replaced with cold eyes.

Emily furrowed her brows. "Peter Duncan's not getting a soapy copper off of me, so why don't you tell him that?"

"Those slaves were worth a hundred gold a head, and you let them go! Do you expect him to forget a debt like that?" Laugri shouted.

"It's not like they were cargo, Laugri, they were people!" Emily pointed out.

He shook his head, and he drew his ax—a massive thing that required two hands to carry. "There's only one way to settle this." Odd noticed that the ax was made of a special type of metal only found in the Tundrastride, and it was shaped to resemble a type of wolf that lived there. He strangely felt offended that such a lowlife would carry the blade of such a noble animal. "To the death, Emily!"

Emily stood motionless as he charged her, and when he was just close enough, she jumped up into the air, using his shoulder to propel herself away. He slammed his blade onto the stone floor, kicking up dust. Emily drew her daggers, the same ones Aelita had described when she spoke of her escape. "To the death, Laugri." She said, turning on her heel.

He stood shakily, and giving out a battle cry, he charged her again. She rushed towards him as well, and she slid under him, slicing at his ankle. It knocked him off-balance though it didn't quite touch skin. Laugri caught himself by pushing his weight against his blade, and he stood. "That was a dirty trick!"

"I'm a pirate, you bilge rat!" Emily laughed. She rubbed her daggers together, creating a slight spark. "I don't play fair."

Laugri lunged forward and he slashed at her with his ax. She dodged it, but he kicked her, sending her to the ground. She held her stomach, and when she spotted his ax about to crash down on her, she rolled out of the way. Yumi signaled Aelita, who transformed into a fox and rushed inside. Then, she returned her attention to the fight.

Emily jumped to her feet, and she reached for her explosives. She slammed it on the ground, and it exploded in a puff of smoke. Aelita transformed back into an elf, removed her shoes and began changing the ground slightly to shift the battle in Emily's favor. She also put a weak enchantment on her daggers, giving them a slight electric charge.

The smoke cleared, and Laugri had appeared to have lost his balance. Emily jumped as high as she could, spun around and landed on his shoulders. She began to rip at his chest, and he screamed as the electricity slightly burned his skin. Emily gave out a battle cry as she raised her daggers high above her head. The pirate drove them into Laugri's skull with every fiber of her being.

The Tundrastrider fell, and Emily yelped as she was trapped under him. "Uh, guys? A little help!" She called out. Yumi ran to her side and lifted him easily off of her. "Well, that was exciting." Emily said, mourning her shirt as she realized the blood stains would likely never come out.

"That was it? I was hoping that we could do some fighting!" Odd complained.

Yumi folded her arms. "Only a fool goes looking for a fight, Odd."

"I know, Yumes, but we never get to do any real fighting anymore!" He said.

Yumi hid a smile. "I'd thank the gods, were I you."

Ulrich looked to Emily as Aelita joined them. "What's this about you freeing slaves?" He asked.

Emily sighed. "Have you heard of Peter Duncan? He's a really powerful pirate. He runs a raiding operation called the Deathdogs. I had hoped to join them a few years ago, thinking that I'd make my name as a pirate faster by making friends." She shifted uncomfortably. "He'd hired me to take some cargo to a port that connected to the Tundrastride. I got a bad feeling about the job halfway through. I knew I shouldn't have since I was so close, but I checked to see the cargo—I didn't know what it was before; his men had loaded the ship, not my boys.

"It turns out I was carrying about a hundred slaves. They were sick, all of them hungry, most of them children. I saw their faces, and I couldn't…" Emily rubbed her face with her hands, as if she were trying to hide tears. "Anyway, thanks. For all your help." Her smile was directed at Aelita.

The elvhen girl smiled weakly. "We didn't do much, Emily."

"You did more than you realize."

"But you're doing more. This is the second time, possibly the third, that I owe you my life." Aelita said, taking Emily's hand.

She smiled happily. "We'll discuss payment later, okay?" She said sarcastically, and they both giggled.

Emily left the warehouse, telling Jeremie to prepare his group, for the ship was to sail out in only a few days' time. He watched her leave, and Ulrich and Aelita walked out of the warehouse. "She was covered in blood! What happened to the body?" The Wise Man asked.

"Don't worry, ma vhenan. Yumi and Odd are… taking care of it." Aelita said.

He sighed, and he looked to the others. "We should get some sleep, at least. We'll get ready tomorrow morning and meet at the docks in the afternoon."


	40. Winter 10

Episode 10: Scallywag Swagger

11th of Verimensis

 

As he gradually became more aware of his surroundings, Jeremie occupied himself with thoughts of the events that had occurred over the past few days. Emily and her crew had finished preparing the ship, and they had set sail during the afternoon the day before. The Heroes, as well as Patrick and Sam, had met some of the more important members of the crew. The ones who had stood out the most to Jeremie were Christophe M'Bala and Heïdi Klinger. Christophe was a human from the Uncharted South, so he boasted exceptional strength, a tall build and skin the color of chocolate. He also seemed to like music, and he and Aelita had bonded almost immediately when she heard him singing a slave song. He served as quartermaster, second only to Emily herself. Heïdi was a dwarf from Gathola, an underground city in Deutschland, and she had short blonde hair and pale green eyes. She enjoyed making poisons and grenades, and seemed to like the color pink. She served as boatswain, overseeing the deck.

Jeremie had to admit, Emily and her crew had been far more generous than he had any right to expect. Not only was she providing them with safe passage to the island city of Carthage, she had also provided all eight teens with a private cabin. He couldn't help but think that the pirate queen would expect something else from them in the future, something more difficult to provide than unnecessary backup during a duel.

He sat up, deciding that it was time to begin his first full day on the ship. He grabbed his spectacles and pushed them up the bridge of his nose. Jeremie looked to his side and was only slightly surprised to find that Aelita had left, likely for her own cabin. She had said that she respected his privacy, and that keeping how far their relationship had progressed a secret from the rest of the group was the best way to maintain balance.

The Wise Man understood where she was coming from, and certainly he didn't want to pressure her towards something she wasn't ready for. Odd would likely tease them—Aelita had told him that she had to bribe him to remain quiet—Yumi would be uncomfortably supportive, and he didn't even want to begin to contemplate how Laura or Ulrich would react. If Sam found out, she likely wouldn't care, but she might tell Patrick. Patrick would likely tell Michael, and Jeremie wasn't sure how his father would react.

And yet as he made his bed and prepared for the day, he couldn't help but wonder if those consequences would be worth it to just once experience what it felt like to wake up next to her.

 

Aelita sat in her cabin, looking deep into the Eluvian. She ran her fingers over the glass, leaving ripples behind as she touched it. A knock came to the door. "Come in!" She called.

Emily poked her head inside. "Decent?" She asked. Aelita smiled, and the pirate queen entered her cabin, quietly closing the door behind her. She jumped onto the bed, sending the younger elf into the air a bit. "Whoa! Careful, now."

Aelita smiled wider, and she pushed a clump of hair behind her ear. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done. Everything is wonderful." She said. Suddenly she frowned, and she asked, "Do you have a parrot-sparrow, Emily?"

Emily scrunched up her nose in confusion. The question had come out of nowhere. "What would I want a parrot-sparrow for?" She asked.

She tilted her head. "What about a claw or a hook for a hand?"

"You can see that I don't, dear."

"Eye patch?"

Emily laughed. "I'm disappointing you terribly, aren't I? And no peg leg, either."

Now Aelita scrunched her nose. "It seems to me Jeremie's story of Petra Pots is very inaccurate."

"He knows, dear. He likes it better that way." She explained. Smirking, almost maliciously, she asked, "When did he tell you that story?"

"Last night," She said, having dropped her guard. Quickly, she added, "A-at dinner. He told all of us that story."

"But I was with you last night. Could it be that you weren't satisfied with Rosa's meal so you went into Jeremie's cabin last night to eat… something else?"

Aelita buried her face into her hands. "By the blood of the Creation Father! C-can we talk about something else, please?"

Giggling, Emily brushed her long hair. Aelita off-handedly commented how jealous she was of Emily's hair—three years had granted Emily hair that reached her shoulder blades, while the Outcast's rosy hair seemed to only grow out. The pirate queen asked quietly, "You really like him, don't you? Jeremie, I mean."

She blushed slightly. "He's clever, brave, caring and wonderful. Before I met him, I… I had forgotten how nice it was to be held by… by someone…" She sighed. "How could anyone not love him?"

"Oh, I could write you a sodding book but that would probably just bore you." She said, ignoring the flash that darted across the younger elf's face. "So, back to the important part… did you get naked?"

Aelita's face turned bright red, and she covered her mouth with her hands. "Emily!" She exclaimed.

"Oh, look at that blush! That good, huh?" The pirate queen teased.

The Outcast stood, throwing her hands over her head. "Fine, fine. I give up. If you promise not to tell my friends, I'll let you…" She shook her head. "…just get it out of your system."

Emily jumped at the chance. "Did he… dwarf your beard? Praise your Creator? Grope your grinder? Fire his cannon? Pudding your peach? Charge your Underdark?" Suddenly, she could barely breathe from laughing.

Aelita didn't seem in the least bit amused. "Are you quite finished?"

"Not even close!" She shouted. "Did you tell him about your routine in the Hungry Gypsy? How much did it take to make the Nightingale sing?" She kept laughing as she added, "I may be splitting hairs, but I'm glad someone is splitting yours. I've heard that the People have special magic passed down from generation to generation. Is that true? Did you, how you say, go wild?"

She shook her head. "I cannot believe I am having this conversation."

"I've also heard that the wilders are forbidden from lying with humans. How sweet does he find your forbidden fruits?" Emily asked.

"My… my fruits?"

"It looks like Belpois is a pureblooded descendant of the Tundrastriders. How much of your tundra has he stridden?"

It appeared that Emily had more to add, but the Outcast could take no more. She reached out and slapped her. "Enough!" She demanded.

The older elf laughed, rubbing her cheek to stop the stinging. "But, really, Aelita. I'm glad you've found someone. I was afraid that, after everything you and I went through, you would be afraid of men."

"Jeremie is different. He's… special." Aelita smiled. "He is ma vhenan, my heart."

Emily smiled sweetly. "You deserve all of the happiness in the world, 'Lita." She stood and stretched. "I'd better get back to work. A ship doesn't captain herself, you know."

 

17th of Verimensis

Seven days on the high sea had left Odd dreadfully stir-crazy. He looked out on the main deck, feeling the ocean's breeze as it hit his face. Everywhere he looked he saw water, and admittedly, it made him feel a little sick.

He turned when someone tapped his shoulder. Odd smiled when he saw Aelita, though she did not return it. In fact, very little of her posture conveyed her usual perky self—she seemed more concerned than anything else. "What's up, Aelita? I thought you were taking the whole day to gossip with your mother via the Eluvian." He grinned. "Don't tell me—you somehow got onto the topic of Jeremie and hit a bump on your road to paradise?"

Aelita shook her head. "This isn't about Jeremie and I. This is about you."

"Me? Why does your mother want to talk to me?" Odd asked.

"Mamae doesn't want to speak to you." She said, "Talia Dorfelas does."

Odd's eyes opened wider. He'd pushed Talia out of his mind as much as possible, and to hear her name again brought back memories he'd sooner have forgotten. The wolf grew angrier, and it became harder for the Scout to see the difference between Aelita and Talia. Gods, they looked similar in this light—Aelita's hair looked fairly dark as a cloud passed over the sun, and when the wolf grew angry, it was harder for Odd to see details like the gentle features that marked Aelita, and so she came across sharper like Talia. The urge to strike at something burned in his veins, and he hid his arm behind his back. "Well, I don't want to talk to her!"

Aelita pressed her hands together. "I know you don't, but she said it was really important!"

Suddenly, Aelita had collapsed on the deck, holding her face in her hand. She was also several feet from him, and when Odd looked down at his hand, he saw blood on his fingers and clawed gauntlet. He realized that he'd struck her, though he didn't remember it. Odd rushed to her side, and he helped her sit up. He pried her hand away from her face, examining the wound. The Scout had cut her around her eye and her cheekbone. "Oh, gods! Aelita, I'm so sorry!" He apologized sincerely, panic obvious in his eyes. "I… I guess I don't know my own strength." Aelita looked as if she were about to heal herself, but he shook his head as Patrick ran closer. "He'll sense it. Don't." He whispered.

Patrick helped Aelita to her feet, and he looked at Odd as if he were confused. "What happened? Why did he hit you?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I'll go get Laura to heal me before Jeremie finds out. Odd, the least you can do now is go talk to Talia." Aelita said, glaring at the Scout as she covered her wounds.

He blinked, as if betrayed. "But…"

"Odd. Talia. Now." Patrick said firmly, offering the Outcast a cloth.

He huffed, and he stormed to the elf's cabin. Odd looked at the Eluvian, and rather than seeing the nothing that the enchanted mirror normally reflected, he saw Talia standing in front of Anthea in the Sarethari estate. "You have a lot of nerve contacting me after what you did." Odd hissed.

"You can't prove anything." Talia said, placing her hands on her hips. "But… it is related."

"Make it quick, beef roast. My patience wears thin."

The changeling pushed back her hair. "Okay, here goes…" Taking a deep breath in, she said, "I'm pregnant."

Odd shook his head. "Fuck off."

"What?!"

"What?"

Talia started again. "I'm… pregnant?"

Odd struggled to come to terms with that statement. "…with emotion?"

"With a baby!" She said sharply, and muttered, "You're the father."

"I'm the father?"

"Yes!"

He could speak to her no longer. He demanded that Anthea explain to him how to sever the connection, and when she had, he swiftly ended communications. He fled Aelita's cabin to his own, hiding in the space between his bed and the wall.

How had this happened? He hadn't wanted to sleep with Talia, and then she convinced him that no one would believe him if he told them what had happened. Now she was pregnant, and the idea of him being a father to a child he hadn't even considered born of a woman he hadn't liked caused him great distress. Odd pulled his knees up to his chin, convincing himself that it wasn't true, that she was lying or trying to get money from him. Yet as his eyes grew hot and itchy as tears tried to come, the wolf would not let him cry—weakness, it growled inside of him, and it would not be tolerated.

Patrick entered the room, and he jumped onto the bed. "Are… you okay? Did Talia give you some bad news?"

It came gushing out, like a geyser that had long since been sealed suddenly regaining pressure. Odd confessed everything to Patrick except the wolf—how Talia had drugged him and taken advantage of him, how she'd told him no one would believe him because of his past, how he'd tried to push it out of his mind and live like it hadn't happened, how she was pregnant now and how terrified he was. He admitted that he didn't even know what he was afraid of—was he afraid of Talia, or the idea of being a father, or the chance that the baby would be a constant reminded of that night? Obviously Talia wanted Odd to be in the baby's life, at least financially; she wouldn't have contacted him otherwise.

Patrick could offer no help. He'd never been trusted with such a secret. Hiding the sadness that stabbed at his heart, he crawled next to Odd and held him firmly. The magistrate whispered quietly that everything would be okay—that he would speak to Aelita about what had happened so she could get Anthea to pursue justice, that they could debate what to do with the baby when, or even if it was born, that the Scout didn't have to be afraid because Patrick would be there for him.

And Odd beat back the wolf spirit. He started to cry. Patrick forced a warm smile, and he pushed up on Odd's chin so they could look into each other's eyes. He blinked when he noticed the brown spots in Odd's eyes, and he wondered how often they changed colors. The Scout smiled through his tears, and nervously, he leaned forward. The two teenagers shared a kiss.


	41. Winter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of the events that occur on the 2nd of Pluitanis were written by Lost Lantean, except the few paragraphs at the very end between Sam and Patrick.

Episode 11: Secrets and Regrets

30th of Verimensis

 

"So… Aelita and Jeremie, huh?" Christophe M'Bala gossiped with Emily, pouring rum into two tankards. They toasted before taking long swigs, Emily shaking her head afterwards, as if to get rid of the taste.

Smiling, Emily cooed, "I think they're darling together!"

Christophe smiled as well, and he laughed a bit. "They are kind of cute together." They both looked up as the door opened, reveling Odd behind it. "Well, I guess I'd better get back to my duties. Thanks for the drink, captain."

Emily waved him off, and then motioned for Odd to enter. "What's up, Odd?" She asked.

"Emily, I need… a favor that I can only ask of you." He said, leaning against the door frame, as if he were unwilling to draw closer to her.

"That's… suspicious. Can I get the details before I agree?" She said, standing.

Odd sighed. "I need you to dock the ship, preferably until tomorrow morning. I can't say much else, but know that it is really important. Like, life or death."

"You're scaring me. What's going on?"

"I cannot tell you. Please, just do this for me. I'll do whatever you want in return." Odd begged.

Emily looked at him in concern, but eventually spoke. "If you say that it's important… then I believe you. But… the only place to dock safely by tonight is Marsy."

Odd seemed confused. "You don't mean the slave port Marsy, do you?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Marsy was different than most slave ports, mostly because it included several islands and had scouts constantly patrolling both the islands and the docks. They usually dealt in mage flesh, and prepared heavily for it, though few slaves made it out without mutilation in some form or another. Emily admitted she had the flag that would signal the slavers not to raid the ship, but expressed concern for the elven members of her crew. "I fear that the slavers may think that they're… new blood."

After considering it, he said, "They're in more danger if you don't dock."

Emily seemed hesitant, but eventually she nodded. "Very well. I'll go tell the helmsman to change our course."

 

Aelita, who had been relaxing with Mr. Pück, the doll Jeremie had bought for her, smelled the familiar aroma of a forest, and she sat up. She moved to the porthole in her cabin, and she could see that the Skidbladnir had docked on an island that, presumably, was covered in dense pine. There was also a very beautiful beach, and the Outcast swooned at the idea of collecting beautiful shells and stones.

She grabbed her bag and clumsily tossed Mr. Pück onto the bed. She stopped, turned and placed him more cautiously against the pillows, smiling as she rushed out. Aelita poked her head in Jeremie's cabin before heading to the deck. "Jeremie, I'm…" She paused when she saw him, nose buried in the elvhen book from the grotto. "Are you still translating? You were working all day yesterday on it."

"It isn't easy, but I enjoy a challenge," The Wise Man said, referring to the notes that both Laura and Ulrich called a mess. "Anyway, did you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going out for a bit." She said.

"Oh, right, the boat's docked. I guess you would want to put your feet on solid ground." He smiled. "Be careful, okay?"

"Okay. See you soon, ma vhenan!" She waved, rushing out to the top deck. Aelita smiled at Christophe and Heïdi as she ran down to the beach. Aelita had only ever touched sand once in her life, and it wasn't a pleasant memory. She'd been sent down to the docks at Arak-Muna once, and one of the slavers pushed her into the sand. She'd skinned her knees, though luckily she escaped any other injuries.

This beach seemed far more inviting and she drank in the experience of being free on the shore. The cold, wet sand felt amazing on her bare feet and the smell of the pines was so much richer than the heavy smell of the sea. She walked along happily, stopping frequently to examine and collect shells. After deciding to keep a shell, she would summon a bit of water to clean it before storing it in her bag, so she didn't bring back sand. Aelita looked up and spotted a path into the forest, and smiling, she decided to explore further. She tossed her bag towards the ship and ran towards the pine forest.

It was beautiful, the pale grey sky creating beautiful shadows on the sparkling blue and silver stones. And yet, as she walked on the path past the trees, she felt something was wrong. She saw a spring and walked closer to it, looking at her reflection in the water. Something grabbed her ankle and pulled her, and when she tried to scream, a rock struck the back of her head. Slowly, she lost consciousness.

 

Jeremie looked up as his door opened after what only felt like a few minutes. "Oh. I thought Aelita was in here with you." Ulrich said. "Do you know where she went? The sun is about to set, and it's a full moon tonight."

"Yeah, she said she was going out for a bit, but I guess that was hours ago. Is she really not back?" Jeremie said.

"No, she's not in her room or—wait, you let her leave the ship alone?" He demanded.

The Wise Man blinked. "Yes. Why?"

"Jeremie, didn't you know? We're docked at Marsy!" Ulrich shouted.

His eyes widened. "What!? Why didn't anyone tell me?! I would've tried to stop her!" Jeremie closed his eyes and pictured Aelita's green eyes. The connection lasted only momentarily before something cut it off—he didn't know if Aelita severed the connection or if someone else did, but he knew one thing for sure—she was in the hands of slavers. "Gods, we have to find her! You go get Laura and Yumi. I'll find Odd, and we'll start trying to track her."

Ulrich nodded, and he ran out of the room. Jeremie grabbed his gauntlet and rushed out of the room finding and dragging Odd away from his preparations. When questioned, Jeremie gave a basic rundown of the situation, to which Christophe heard the back end of. "Wait, the little elf was kidnapped? Let me get my club—I'll go with you to rescue her." The quartermaster volunteered, sprinting below deck. Ulrich, Yumi and Laura joined Jeremie and Odd, and moments after, Christophe appeared with a club made of bone and stone.

The teenagers ran onto the beach, and Odd pointed to Aelita's bag. The wind had covered it and her footprints in sand, though Jeremie pointed to the path. Odd volunteered to remain back in case Aelita escaped and returned to the ship, though the Heroes knew that he was likely in pain as moonrise drew closer. Yumi shot him a worried glance, and he handed her his bow and quiver before she followed the others.

 

Aelita awoke in chains, and when she tried to freeze them, she realized that she was surrounded by runes used to negate magic. They were carved into the chains and drawn on the floor. She looked up and around, and she tried to call out for her friends. Her voice was weak, and if she tried to wiggle out of her chains, they grew hot. For a moment, it would be pleasant compared to the winter air that nipped at her bare skin, but soon it started to burn and it would no longer be pleasant.

Slowly, she began having flashbacks to her life as a slave. She began hyperventilating, struggling hopelessly against the binds, screaming despite the scratchiness of her throat. The Outcast started to cry, and when she saw three slavers enter the room, she begged them to let her go. They ignored her, and the tallest one grabbed a leather whip. "Now lovely, we've seen yer scars. I dun't know where ya ran from, but 'ere at Marsy we dun't take kindly ta runaways." He said, and Aelita could see the sick enjoyment in his eyes. "I think ya know what ta do, lass."

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to convince herself to wake up, but when it didn't work, she held back a sob that would've otherwise been audible. "Count the lashes," She whispered.

"That's a good girl," The slaver cooed, bringing back his arm.

 

The gates to the actual headquarters of Marsy were tall and built of lumber, with a watchtower on both sides of the intimidating doors. Jeremie whispered for Yumi to take out the sentries and then telekinetically pull one close so the Heroes could obtain the key to open the gates. Laura offered to diplomatically solve this, using her title to get in. She admitted that she had quite a bit of gold on her, and she could likely purchase Aelita off of her captors. Jeremie almost shouted that she would most certainly not purchase Aelita, and Laura pulled her hood over her head.

Yumi drew the arrow in the bow, and though she didn't have formal archery training, she was able to use her supernatural strength and senses to strike her target. Jeremie loaned her some of his mental strength via telepathy, and she pulled the sentry closer. Christophe grabbed the key, and the teenagers rushed towards the door. Jeremie ordered Laura to follow him in the event Aelita had been physically injured, and the others were to keep the slave guard from killing them.

Ulrich and Christophe pushed open the gates, and an alarm sounded from the horn at a watchtower. "Looks like someone found the body," Laura said, aggravated.

The other teenagers drew their weapons and rushed through the gates just as soon as the opening was large enough to accommodate them. Beyond the gate was a broad street that went forward several hundred yards then ended in a T shaped intersection. Along the sides were any number of wooden buildings and between them a number of smaller roads and alleys branched off the main road. Over the other sounds of the city like complex shouts from guard captains marshalling their men could be heard. Jeremie urged them forward, hoping to make it to the center before the incoming guards.

Guards ran to block their way with a sizeable force coming down from the two branches of the main road. More began to appear at the side streets and before they could reach the center intersection they were pretty well surrounded. Jeremie looked to Laura, who nodded and summoned a fiery whip. Ulrich and Christophe prepared their weapons while Laura used her fire to cut a hole through the line of guards in front of them. Yumi threw her Tessen fans, using a bit of telekinesis to prevent the guards from blocking the blades. The remaining slavers charged them and in the chaos of the melee, Jeremie grabbed Laura before running from the brutal fight. She looked nervously at the three remaining teens, but as he dragged her, she was in no position to help. In the meantime, she melted the chains holding back the slaves she ran past. Many fled, but some grabbed weapons and helped the teenagers fight the guards.

With his friends acting as a diversion, Jeremie ran through the city like a man possessed, throwing open every door he came across and forcing the pair to kill a slaver or two almost every time. Laura started to pant, though she was smart enough not to suggest to the Wise Man that they rest. She heard a whip crack, and a familiar voice. "This way!" The Fair called, pointing at a wooden building. Jeremie turned and stood still for half a heartbeat before he charged towards it.

Overtaking her he smashed through the door with a surprising amount of force. Inside, the three slavers turned, and as they moved, the two blonds caught a glimpse of Aelita's coat. Jeremie furrowed his brows, recovered from the daze of hitting the door, and entered an offensive position. The tallest slaver ordered the other two to kill them. Jeremie ran forward while and the slaver closest to him drew his blade. Laura grabbed her wand and began to cast a flame spell. Jeremie kicked the short sword from the slaver's hand then jabbed the retractable blade on his gauntlet under the man's chin. Laura created a cone of flames, burning the slaver who stalked closer to her.

Jeremie pushed the dead slaver away from him, and he glared at the remaining slaver. The man cracked his neck and he drew twin blades. "Ya gonna die 'ere and now, lad. Say your prayers."

"We've faced worse than you, you bastard." Jeremie hissed, and he looked at Laura. The princess conjured a fireball, and she launched it. The slaver jumped out of the way, surprisingly nimble for how tall he was. Jeremie dove forward, slashing at his knees and knocking him to the ground. Laura scrambled out of the way of the falling slaver while the Wise Man grabbed the iron poker heating on the fire and jammed it into the slaver's neck. Ignoring the slaver's dying scream Jeremie got up and looked caringly at Aelita. While Laura pressed her hands together, he struggled to open her chains. "Are you okay? I mean, of course you aren't, but…" He whispered, holding her chin.

She pulled her chin away, and Jeremie finished opening the binds. Laura offered Aelita her coat, and when the Outcast grabbed it, she began to summon her healing magic. "Don't you dare touch me, Imperialist!" Aelita hissed, pulling her clothes over her head.

"Don't be stubborn. You're bleeding, Aelita. It would be stupid of you not to let me heal your wounds." Laura protested.

"I said don't touch me!" She shouted, limping away from the runes. Jeremie followed her, and he tried to get her to stop. Aelita kept shrugging him away until she could feel her magic flow enough so she could transform. She took the form of an owl and flew away.

Jeremie watched her fly, and he covered his face with his hands. Laura started to reach out to him, but she pulled her hand back. "It sounds like the fighting is just about over. I'll go tend to the others." She said. "You should head back to the Skidbladnir. Aelita needs you now."

He glared at her, but his expression softened, and he nodded. Laura ran back to where the others had been fighting, and watched as Yumi snapped the neck of the last slave guard. Laura nearly tripped over Christophe, who had collapsed. She gasped and immediately began to tend to his wounds, and he opened his eyes. "Hello, nurse," He greeted seductively, and blushing, the Fair laughed, pushing her hair away from her face.

"T-that's a new one," She whispered. She stood and pulled Christophe to his feet, though admittedly he nearly pulled her down on top of him accidentally. Laura then looked to Ulrich, who only had a gash on his back but otherwise, only a few cuts. She started to heal Yumi, though the Colonist stopped her and drank from a vial prepared for her. "Jeremie is headed back towards the ship. If we're done here, I think it would be best if we followed him."

 

Patrick was reading a book that Jeremie had loaned him when he heard a howl come from outside the ship. Recognizing it as the howl of a werewolf, he grabbed his rapier and quickly strapped his armor on. He charged off of the boat, pulling his helmet over his head, tracking the beast as it fled.

He caught sight of it slightly, and he threw a silver dagger he kept in his belt at it. The monster ducked behind a tree, and Patrick cursed.

After an hour of tracking, an owl swooped and knocked off his helmet. The magistrate rolled his eyes and picked it up; noticing specks of blood had collected on it. More than that, the specks reeked of blood magic. Had the owl been a witch? He shook his head and concluded it was likely an escaped test subject or a familiar, and he returned to tracking the werewolf.

Patrick finally cornered the beast, and while he prepared to fight, the werewolf would not fight him. In fact, it sat and looked at him respectfully, bowing his head after a few moments. Did the monster want him to kill it? That seemed unlikely, and yet something about the werewolf seemed so familiar.

Against his better judgment, Patrick sheathed his rapier and held out his hand. The werewolf slowly approached him, pushing its skull against his hand. The magistrate seemed confused, but he broke into a smile and rubbed the beast behind his ears. If this was a beast, he thought, surely this was a tame one.

 

Jeremie found Aelita's cabin door to be locked when he finally returned. He knocked on the door. "Aelita? Aelita, I know you're in there. I know that this was hard for you, and you should know that I'm here for you." He said. After a moment, he pressed his body against the door. "Please, let me in."

"You shouldn't have seen that!" Aelita shouted through her tears, "You shouldn't have seen me like that!"

"That wasn't your fault!" He argued, "I don't know all of what they did to you, but I want to help! Please, open the door!"

"Leave me alone! I just want to be alone!" She answered, and no matter what Jeremie said, she refused to say anything else.

 

Ulrich was the first one to return to the deck with the cabins after the dinner that two specific teens had missed, and it was fairly late when he did so. He found Jeremie curled up at Aelita's door, half-asleep. He shook his friend gently, and he whispered, "Come on, Belpois. You need to go to bed."

"But Aelita…" He murmured. Ulrich could tell that he was at sleep's doorway, though likely it would not be restful. Knowing Jeremie, he'd probably thrash about in his sleep, nightmares plaguing him. Nevertheless, the Mercenary helped the Wise Man up, and together they walked back to Jeremie's cabin. Ulrich pushed the books and notes from Jeremie's bed and removed the spectacles from his face as he lay down.

Then he went back to his room, took his lock picks from his bag and deftly opened Aelita's door. She had fallen asleep, though judging by the stains on her face and pillow, she had done so crying. When he lifted her up to put her under the covers, he saw her flinch as he touched her back. The Mercenary was more careful as he held her.

He flipped the soaked pillow over so the wet side faced the frame, and he cautiously tucked her under the covers. He noticed a doll lying near the Eluvian, and he picked it up. Ulrich remembered Aelita showing it off to him after Jeremie gave it to her. She'd been so happy to have received a gift. At this moment in time, he could only assume that she'd thrown it at the wall, not wanting to lose it but at the same time not thinking she deserved the happiness that it had brought her. Ulrich folded it between her hands, and he closed the door behind him as he left, wishing his sister to have a good night's sleep.

 

2nd of Pluitanis

It was three days later when Emily had had enough. She was pressing for answers about why she had to cut the mooring lines and race away from the port under threat of hostile boarding. This, honestly, was the least of her concerns. The catapults throwing boulders at her ship while she sailed away was more alarming. But the cutter that sailed in pursuit was terror. She was looking at a raid, at the possibility that her ship would be forcibly taken from her with her crew coerced into serving another captain or sold into slavery at the port they were running from. She wouldn't be able to go there ever again and passing through these waters would now be a serious threat. So livid didn't begin to cover her emotion.

Neither did scared. And she did not scare easily. But watching as Aelita glared at the chasing boat, with blood dripping from under her coat and body quaking, whether from rage or fear wasn't relevant, as she slowly smiled a sinister smile was scary. Almost as much as the way she muttered the words "not again". Had what happened next not happened, she could have moved past that. Aelita however, Aelita stuck her hands out, every muscle in her body straining with the concentration she needed to part the ocean. A wave formed under the enemy ship lifting it up from the water in the very center. The deafening creak of the wood somehow didn't drown out the scream of the crew until the thunderous crack of the spine occurred. The bow and stern plunged into the sea while cracks tore up the side of the boat until it was split roughly in half. Then the wave was gone and the middle crashed into the water sinking rapidly and taking the crew under with it.

Aelita nearly collapsed, her hands catching on the deck railing just in time to prevent her from falling. She looked out at the water where the other vessel had been only moments ago with such a sickeningly satisfied look on her face then turned in the direction of another ship that had started to give chase. That ship dropped its sails in record time, giving up before it could even begin to catch up. Aelita had strode off the deck, past the amazed and frightened crew and down to the cabin where she locked herself inside. Her friends made themselves as scarce as possible after that and even though there was no place to hide on the ship, no one was willing to immediately raise questions when the answers might be so potentially dangerous.

She was the captain though and that position was not earned by avoiding unpleasant things, hard decisions and intimidating people. So with the skeleton key in hand, she knocked on Aelita's door then proceeded to let herself in. She found Aelita sitting almost catatonic, slowly rocking herself back and forth with her legs pressed against her chest and bound by her hands, and staring at the blank glass that made up the Eluvian. The demanding shout died in Emily's throat and instead she called her gently.

Aelita turned to glare. "Go away."

"I can't… Aelita you put my crew-"

"YOU!" She pointed an accusing finger and watched as the older elf slowly moved off center as though that would avoid her wrath. "You brought me to a slave port," she growled.

"Odd-"

"What? Made you stop there knowing I was an escaped slave and wanted in Replika for that creep's death?" She demanded.

"Actually? Yes." Emily replied with steel in her voice. "I warned him it was a slave port. He said everyone would be safer there than if we stayed out at sea."

"And you couldn't warn us. Warn me?"

Emily looked down at her boots. "I didn't think you'd run off." She looked back up at Aelita, her face looking more severe, "What were you thinking taking off without telling anyone?"

"I trusted you won't put us anywhere dangerous," Aelita retorted sharply. "I. Trusted. You."

"Dangerous!?" Emily yelled incredulously. "You are in Replika! Slavery is legal here and you're wanted and you know that so excuse me if I expected a bit of sense from you."

Now it was Aelita's turn to look away sheepishly. Her anger was spent and the rollercoaster of emotions she had been experiencing careened back to shame and guilt. Looking back up she asked in a voice barely above a whisper. "Have you wondered why I go barefoot as much as I can?"

"No." Emily answered firmly.

"Oh… Well, elves can sense the earth with their feet and once you get used to it, it's hard not having it. We, I, got land sick I guess you could say. The beach was good but being in the forest again was marvelous." She smiled very slightly here. "The smell of the trees and the connection to the earth was something I missed so much," she shook her head then continued, "I couldn't resist."

"You should have." Emily answered harshly before turning towards the door. "You've really got no idea just how much risk and hardship you've inflected on my crew. And on me." Her hand on the door she turned back to look at Aelita who was now barely suppressing sobs and took pity on the girl. "But I'm glad you're safe and my crew and I, we can deal with the trouble. It isn't like this is the first time we've run afoul of slavers. As for you personally," Emily's voice took on a commanding tone. "Your friends risked everything, even a fate you know is worse than death, to run headlong into danger and get you the moment they figured you were missing. Don't lose them because you're still back there."

There was no verbal response, but it looked like Aelita nodded. She slowly closed the door then locked it before heading back topside. The bright, bubbly girl she had seen board the ship was gone and Gods only knew if she'd return. Next to that, the deaths of hundreds of slavers seemed inconsequential.

 

Sheltered from the midday sun in her cabin, Yumi received a knock on the door and admitted Jeremie and Laura into her quarters. Jeremie was shaky, as he always was when offering his blood as her food, and Laura was off. Angry and perhaps disappointed over Aelita's reaction to being rescued and possibly jealous of Jeremie's devotion to said girl. It was a problem no one had the energy to deal with right now so she gently steadied Jeremie's hand as he cut into his wrist before bringing the limb up to her mouth and engulfing the new wound with her lips.

Jeremie shivered while she drank, as much from the coolness of her lips as from the irrational fear that said she'd turn him again. He banished the thought and instead concentrated on what was going to happen after Laura had healed the fresh cut. "Yumi?" He asked after Laura had left the room and shut doe door. "Can we talk? About Aelita?"

She answered with a very human nod, and Jeremie scolded himself for framing the thought that way. He sat down on the bed and watched her do the same. Then, before he could say anything further she started the conversation with "You're worried about her."

His turn to nod yes. "All I can get from her is that I wasn't supposed to see her like that and I can't see her like this." He looked right into the older girl's disturbingly orange eyes, "I can't help her if she won't talk."

The ship rocked gently while Yumi thought over her answer and Jeremie turned his eyes to one of the candles that lit Yumi's room. The outer holder moved, the concentric globes casting odd shadows through the room, while the flame in the center stayed near perfectly centered. Yumi followed his gaze. "Neat little invention."

"It's a gimbaled candle holder. The rings are at right angles and move freely so that the candle can't be tipped over and fall due to the motion of the deck."

"Without it, it wouldn't be safe to have candles on a wooden ship." Yumi replied as she turned back to face Jeremie. "Running into that slave port should have been suicide. But I'm not human anymore and Emily's quartermaster is one heck of a fighter and Ulrich's even better so we made it. But I wonder if Aelita sees only the danger she puts us in. Or perhaps she sees her inability to escape on her own as inexcusable. A weakness that renders her unworthy of our company. Even if she wanted to talk about one, perhaps the other cancels that movement like the rings of your gimbaled candle."

"Then how do I get through to her?"

"Yumi shrugged. You're supposed to be the Wise Man," she teased lightly, "so how would you get the candle out of the holder?"

He turned a quizzical look on her then answered, "I'm sure if it is jarred hard enough the fire can be spilled."

"So then, what might jar Aelita into talking to you? I'm pretty sure that, even though she won't talk, she'll listen to the right words."

"Words and I don't exactly have a great history."

She chuckled just a little, "maybe so. But of all of our little group, only Ulrich may know her as well as you do. She will listen to you, even if it doesn't seem like she does."

He frowned, "if I can find the right words."

"Or perhaps just the right idea."

"Yeah."

Smiling slightly Yumi stood from the bed and lightly touched his arm. He didn't flinch away this time and she gave him a supportive squeeze along with a brighter smile. "And Jeremie? Thank you for forgetting what I am for a little while."

"Who you are is a good friend. What you are physically…" He looked down in shame and felt his chin lifted up by a cold finger.

"What I am physically probably gives you nightmares, yet here you are."

He smiled brightly and got up, quickly pecking her forehead before announcing "you're a genius!" and running from the room.

 

Evening brought another knock on her door, this one from the increasingly despondent Jeremie Belpois. He probably had, as always, brought her a plate of whatever was for the corresponding meal, which would be dinner at this point. Then would come his plea for her to let him enter, or to just talk to him through the door. Next he would beg her to talk to Yumi or Ulrich or even Odd. Then he'd slide down to the floor and sit until Ulrich came by to take him to his room. Finally Ulrich would pick the lock, tuck her in and leave quietly, always making sure the door was locked again. Three days and they hadn't varied from the routine. Only Emily's visit had changed the order of things.

So when she noticed that it was not the usual dinner time, she was shocked enough to actually listen as he mentioned having nightmares about Yumi. She bolted for the door, not wanting his sudden change in policy on talking about Yumi's vampirism to get her thrown off the ship with murderous intent. Once he was inside though, she was going to wipe the smug look she was certain he'd have at finally gaining entry off his face. Except that the teenager standing expectantly at her door wore nothing like the smug expression she expected. Instead of triumph there was depression and shame, emotions all too familiar to her. Silently she stepped aside and let him enter.

She closed her door and walked to her bed, nervously sitting down a safe distance away and listened while he described the nightmares he had about the vampire that had kidnapped, tortured and then turned him becoming Yumi. "But those aren't the nightmares I've been having lately."

She studied his face, finding the bloodshot eyes and dark bags beneath that signaled fatigue. Even the lines on his handsome face seemed worse and so, since last she saw him, he seemed to have gained several decades. Worse still, tears prickled at the edges of his vision and he couldn't sustain eye contact, looking away and always down like he didn't deserve it. She could relate to that too. Haltingly she asked what she really didn't want to know because she was afraid she already knew the answer. "What… are they about?"

"Losing you." Jeremie answered succinctly. "We, Laura actually, found you because she heard you call out the number." His voice quivered, "Since we got back to the ship, all I could do was sit outside your door, worrying. And when Ulrich finally gets me to back to my room I…" He blinked the tears out of his eyes. "I can't close my eyes because I can see you chained and being lashed. That pain in your eyes is so clear and then I-"

"OUT!" Aelita roared.

He went rigid "Aelita, please…" He begged her.

"I said get out!"

"But I-"

He didn't get to finish because she moved quickly and hit him, using a bit hint of lightening to boost her strength. Jeremie slammed into the wall beside the door and slumped down to the floor, his glasses askew. The wooden walls seemed to reverberate with the sound and terror seized her as she realized what she'd just done. Lightening still crackled around her outstretched fist and Jeremie was eying that hand warily. There was resignation in his face, not anger but resignation, hurt and sadness. A lump formed in her throat and though she couldn't hear it yet, she could guess people were on their way to investigate.

Jeremie coughed painfully and forced himself to stand, ignoring the singed clothing and painful burning feeling that emanated from his chest. Closing his eyes he spoke with a low voice. "Go ahead."

"What?"

"Do whatever you want to me but I'm staying here. I… We can help each other heal or you can do the merciful thing and kill me here. But whatever it is, I'm not leaving you behind."

The lightening that crackled violently around her fist lessened in intensity though her hard stare didn't. Jeremie shifted his gaze from her arcing fist to her face. Outside footsteps in the corridor were audible. She continued to stare him down. "You shouldn't have seen me like that. No one should have. Not like that."

He nodded. "Weak? Afraid? What did you do when I was recovering from being turned into a vampire? How do you think I felt?"

A strong knock on the door grabbed both teens attention. "Aelita!" Ulrich's muffled voice came through the door. "Aelita are you ok?"

Jeremie turned his attention back to her. "You earned your vallaslin by enduring your slavery on your own. Now you don't have to so please don't try to go through this on your own."

A low metallic clicking sound came through door and Aelita realized how it was that Ulrich was getting in to tuck her in every night. Other muffled shouts came through the door and she recognized the rest of the supposed heroes. She let her fist uncurl, dispelling the remaining electric charge with a low fizzle and the sharp smell of ozone just as Ulrich succeeded in opening the lock. Her friends poured into the room only to have Ulrich freeze at the sight of the standoff between the Wise and the Outcast. His pause went unheeded and he was pushed to the floor then quickly buried by Odd, Yumi, Laura, and Patrick.

Neither the Wise nor the Outcast moved a muscle in response. They simply continued to stare each other down while the rest began collecting themselves and getting out of the pileup, their light groans breaking the thick silence that hung in the room. One by one each teenager managed to return to a standing position, with Yumi finally helping to pull Ulrich up after Odd got off of him.

Aelita finally tore her gaze away from Jeremie to regard each of the new intruders. Odd smiled sheepishly as her gaze settled on him and quipped "You should have joined in the pile. Nothing like a group activity to make a person feel better." When her frown became even more severe he muttered "yeash, tough crowd." Yumi and Ulrich both slapped him and Aelita almost smiled.

"Ma Vamhan?" Jeremie asked tentatively, mispronouncing the word.

Aelita's focus returned to him with enough intensity to bore a hole through him.

"What I saw in that building was the strongest woman I know, stronger than I can even imagine, doing what she had to in order to survive. There was nothing humiliating about that. It doesn't diminish you, your strength, your character, your soul. All the things I fell in love with about you, they're still there, I can still see them in you. Maybe, if you'll let me, I can help you see them in yourself again."

She nodded, her expression having softened considerably from what it looked like when Jeremie had started his plea. Sighing, she turned away and walked to her bed. Sitting down she looked back at the gathered group. "I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind."

All of them began to file through the door, shuffling slowly out to avoid making another scene.

"Jeremie?" He stopped and turned around, as did Yumi. "You can stay."

Yumi smiled encouragingly at Jeremie and lightly squeezed his shoulder before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

"This isn't going to be easy." She said after a few minutes of mostly comfortable silence.

"But we can recover." Jeremie replied with renewed confidence.

 

Patrick had often complained of the bureaucratic red tape that surrounded his paperwork, but he'd become so used to filling it out that he wasn't quite sure what to do in his spare time. He closed his eyes and remembered hearing the horn being blown from the Skidbladnir, and his hesitation to leave a tame werewolf to fend for itself in slaver territory. But the sun was beginning to rise, and he'd seen Odd in the beast's place.

It came as a shock in more than one way. Patrick's mouth had dried up considerably upon the revelations that came with the morning sun. But they'd sprinted back to the Skid together, with the magistrate providing modesty. However, after returning to the ship, the boys hadn't spoken but perhaps five words to one another.

Sam entered the room, leaning against the frame. "I guess you know, huh? How much did he tell you?" She asked.

"Nothing. Not even, 'I can explain'." Patrick said, sitting up on his bed.

"Well, maybe I can drag dark into light." The elven girl said. She spoke plainly about her time as a vampire's slave, and how one day they'd brought her Odd and demanded that she turn him. She skipped over their relationship, focused more on their escape and explained that when the two parted, they both believed that the wolf was bound to them and they could control it. "But I was a werewolf for a long time before Odd came to me. Perhaps this made me too confident. I, like Odd, remained blind to the reality that we are bound to the wolf."

"So, what are you saying? Odd isn't in control?" The magistrate asked.

"I don't know. Seeing him with you… he managed to fight the urges given to him by the wolf. I… have never heard of someone fighting back the wolf."

"Does he even want to be cured?"

"Probably not. He doesn't need to sleep as much, he can eat as much as he wants, he's faster, stronger and more agile and in his beast form he can kill a group of six men single-handedly. Odd's stupid, but he isn't a fool." Sam looked to the side. "Anyone who has been connected to the wolf would never give up that kind of power. Every single one of them thinks that they can conquer it." She simply shrugged. "Maybe with you, he could. I understand that dominating the inner wolf comes with perks."

Patrick half-laughed. "What kind of perks are we talking about here?"

Sam shrugged again. "What do I know? I lost control, remember? I lost myself." She closed the door behind her, and Patrick looked at it for a while. He didn't know what he expected; that Odd would walk in or that he would gather the courage to walk out. He took his silver rapier from the ornate sheathe and held it in his hands. Everything that he'd been taught said that werewolves were monsters and could not be trusted. But he knew Odd, and he liked Odd.

And Yumi. Something was off about Yumi as well, but he couldn't place it. She had a serious, cold aura about her and it rose the hairs on the back of his neck. But she was a kind person who cared about her friends. If she was involved in something sinisterly regarded, was it right to judge them for it? Could he be the police of the mortals if his heart was plagued by such doubt? Patrick stood shakily and locked his door. He could not emerge and risk facing the others without major introspection.


	42. Winter 12

Episode 12: Carthage

12th of Pluitanis

 

Emily looked out over the ocean as Carthage grew ever closer. It had been a year since she'd set foot on that island, and the last time it had only been for a week to sell off a plundered shipment of blackpowder from a Zhonghuo. Blackpowder was this explosive dust that many alchemists used to create explosive grenades and poisons. Some suspicious-looking elf had bought a whole crate of it. Emily heard later that they used it to blow up an entire street. It wasn't her concern what they did with the stuff.

She turned in time to watch the black flag being exchanged for the one that showed the ship was loyal to Lyoko. Pirates, obviously, were not permitted to dock in the cities where slavery was illegal, so they disguised the Skidbladnir every time they docked there. The pirate queen returned her attention to the horizon, and she closed her eyes as the salt spray hit her face. This was her favorite part of sailing—the journey. And she hoped to enjoy it down to the last second.

As they drew closer, the teenagers she had accepted onto her ship gathered on the deck. She looked at them and wondered if it had been worth it to take them on. She wondered if they would sell her out to the guard. As Christophe approached, he noticed her skeptical expression and smiled. "Don't worry. They're much happier to be here than they are eager to burn bridges."

Emily turned back to the sea. "Hasn't stopped them before."

Christophe chuckled, and he leaned against the railing. Carthage was a beautiful city in his opinion, not like the dilapidated walls in the Uncharted South. He didn't understand why the pale-skinned humans didn't explore further, though he had to admit, their architecture was far more advanced. Most of the cities were constructed from mud and straw, though many were still nomadic and lived in tents. He remembered his own home city of Ngemby, and compared it to Carthage.

Carthage was four times to size of Ngemby, making the island city roughly twice the size of Cortex. The walls of the city were dark blue, while the buildings that lay within were made of stone as white as the driven snow. In the center of it all was a dome, much like the black dome of Cortex, though this one shone with bright blue light, as if it were a beacon in the darkness. Christophe muttered to his captain that he'd heard a story that every time a person entered the island city, the paths within changed. "That's rubbish!" Emily dismissed incredulously.

The quartermaster had no time to retort before Heïdi screeched, pointing to the sky. The mortals on deck all looked up, and more than half screamed as a dragon swooped overhead, roaring. Christophe held the railing for support as he shouted, "Talos save us! It's a dragon!"

"Not just a dragon! It's a wyvern lich!" Jeremie shouted back. Indeed it was a wyvern, a type of dragon where its front paws served as wings as well, like those of bats. It was also undead, its facial scales having decayed to show the muscles and bone beneath. There were holes on its ribcage, showing bone and guts where its rusty scales should've been. The only remaining testament to its beauty was its gorgeous golden horns.

Emily shouted for her crew to prepare for a fight, but the dragon simply roared again and flew off. After being assured the dragon had no intention of attacking the ship, they tried to calm themselves down, though all of them wore the expression of having just seen a dragon.

The Skidbladnir sailed into port about an hour later, and there on the docks waiting for them were the families that they had left behind so many months ago. They had sent letters to them the day before, warning them of their imminent arrival. Michael Belpois, Akiko and Takeho Ishiyama, Robert and Marguerite Della-Robbia, James and Shriuque Dendar, and Aren and Mari Stern stood anxiously on the docks, the couples holding hands tightly whilst Michael paced up and down the wooden planks.

The teenagers shouted at their parents, though Aelita and Laura stood behind them, having no one to greet them. When Laura spotted the Dunbar family, however, she knew the responsibility of reporting their son's condition would fall to her.

Odd was the first one off of the boat, and his parents sprinted forward to hug him. Marguerite almost cried as she held her youngest child and only son, stroking his hair lovingly as Robert hugged his wife and son. Michael met Jeremie halfway, holding his son as he wept into his blond hair, whispering into it that until he received Jeremie's letters, he'd thought that he'd died.

Akiko was so relieved to see Yumi again. She'd lost both of her children to the gods-forsaken war, and to see one of her children alive brought her great relief. Unlike Takeho, she could see nothing wrong with Yumi and associated her cold skin to spending too much time on the open sea and not enough time indoors. But Yumi's father was suspicious, and while he was glad to see his daughter, he thought something was strange about her. Yumi looked away from him, but smiled when her father took her shoulder in his hand.

Aren and Mari embraced Ulrich, and despite their differences, Ulrich was glad to see them. His father commented proudly how he seemed to have grown into a fine warrior, and Mari smoothed his hair and coat with a soft, warm hand.

As Laura walked off of the boat, James and Shriuque ran towards her. James smiled and held her shoulders, and sadly, the princess smiled back. Shriuque pushed her dark green hair away from her face. "William isn't with you?" She asked weakly.

Laura looked to her feet. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dendar. William was kidnapped and brainwashed by Xana Kenval." She admitted quietly.

Shriuque's yellow eyes filled with tears, and she collapsed to the dock. James held her, and Laura covered her face. She held her arms, rubbing them as if they were cold before bending her head to pull her hood over it.

The teenagers caught up with their families as the crew of the Skidbladnir helped unload the cargo. Aelita accepted Rorkal and the aravel from the pirates, stroking the horse's snout lovingly. Then she looked inside, making sure that the Eluvian was within. She came to the rather alarming conclusion that she didn't know where to store the aravel, and a flicker of hope rose in her mind that perhaps a wooded area was nearby. Though admittedly, it seemed like the city covered the entire island. So much, she thought, for sleeping outside.

Jeremie would likely allow her to stay in his family home, though she wondered about many things should that be the case. Would he expect her to sleep with him? What would his father say if he found out? What if she had second thoughts, or what if she had a nightmare, or what if he expected to wake next to her, even though she wasn't ready for such a thing…?

Yumi looked up at her, distracted long enough to notice the worried expression on her face. "Aelita, if you want, you could always stay with us. We've even got a stable where Rorkal can be with other horses. Right, Mom?" She said, looking lovingly at her mother. Akiko and Takeho didn't seem to like the idea of an elf staying in their home who wasn't a servant, but they missed their daughter too much to argue.

Aelita smiled, consciously thinking not to look at Jeremie. She loved him, but avoiding his family seemed to be the best course of action at the moment. "That would be very kind of you, lethallan." She accepted gratuitously.

Jeremie smiled that Aelita was finally starting to open up again, though of course he felt bad that he hadn't offered to house her first. Odd opened his mouth to say something, and the Wise Man immediately said, "Odd, if you intend to say something dirty, close your mouth right now or I will push you into the pier." Odd sighed and closed his mouth.

There came a loud fanfare, and a group of eight soldiers in the Lyoko military approached. A lieutenant approached Laura and explained that, due to recent events, her father was worried that an attack on his life would be made should he greet her himself, so in his stead, he sent soldiers to escort her to the castle safely. "Oh, okay. I… guess I'll see you all later, then." Laura said, waving goodbye as she entered her typical position between her guards. The lieutenant closed off the box, obscuring her from sight.

 

Yumi and Aelita sat in the gardens near the Ishiyama estate. Their backs were facing each other as Yumi braced herself. She took Aelita's dagger and cut open her stomach so the solid contents could spill into the hole the two girls had dug. One of the negative side effects of being a vampire was her inability to digest solid food, but she couldn't avoid eating or her parents would be suspicious. The fish prepared for them that night had tasted wonderful but it made her stomach ache and caused her great pain when she moved. The disgust of seeing her food again was lessened as her feelings of sickness faded.

Yumi limped to Aelita, who nonchalantly offered her wrist for feeding. Unlike the others, it didn't seem to bother the Outcast except at the very end, when the Colonist removed her fangs. "This city is so big and confusing! Have you been here in the past?" Aelita asked, moving closer to the koi pond. Yumi smiled as the elf kicked up some of the water, but looked sadly at her hands when she spotted the fish.

"Only once. My dad was here on business or something and he brought us along. I was really little, and Hiroki…" Her voice trailed off for a moment. "…Hiroki was just a baby."

Aelita decided to change the subject before her past upset her more. "I can't imagine living here all of the time. I… can't imagine living in any city but this one least of all." She said.

"I guess you just get used to it." Yumi shrugged. "Gods, look at all of the stars."

Aelita looked up. The sky was littered with sparkling silver dots, each twinkling speck a sign of hope and a promise of destiny. "I'm surprised you can see so many of them here. The lights never seem to go out in Carthage."

"I suppose you're right. I mean, in Capital Lyoko, every night you could only see a handful of stars. But here… it's like we're still on the road, or out on the ocean." She said, lying down on the bench beneath the sleeping sour cherry tree. "That's the part I like most. Just looking up at the stars on cold nights, when the moon has that silvery halo… it is magic."

Aelita lay down as well, remembering the night as Heartwood with Jeremie. The ancient stories were true, and she'd found her love. And yet, as her face darkened like a new moon, she wondered why she felt she could not stay with him. He loved her so much, and no matter what he'd never try to hurt her, and yet every time they were together at night, she was never there when he woke.

She sat up. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Good night, Yumi." She said brusquely. Yumi sat up a bit, calling 'good night' after her. She tilted her head, her orange eyes glowing in the night. She then looked to the koi pond, catching sight of a grey koi with white markings on one side of its face. Angrily, she snatched it out of the water, her fingers digging into its scales. As the koi squirmed, Yumi's fury faded, and gently she released it back into the pond. Its blood left a trail wherever it went.

 

Unable to sleep, Jeremie lit a candle and slid his spectacles up his nose. He carried the flame in through the apartment. Michael had said they'd owned it for years, and barely, Jeremie remembered being inside with his mother. As he thought of this, he caught sight of a painting of his mother and father before he was born, likely right after their marriage. The inscription read, 'MICHAEL AND JEANNE BELPOIS'. Jeanne. Jeremie had almost forgotten his own mother's name. Jeanne Belpois.

He noticed two other things about the painting. One, both his mother and his father wore amulets like the one found on the corpse in the werewolf's den that summer and both also had tattoos that depicted the sun and twin crescent moons, just like the graphic that decorated his book bag. It explained why his father always wore high-necked shirts, and why he could never remember seeing his mother's wrists. What could the symbol mean, he wondered. The second thing he noticed was that the painting had been done by Robert Della-Robbia. If Michael and Jeanne had known Odd's family, why had Jeremie only met Odd at the ball before the drow attacked? They might have had a falling out, but if they had, why had they kept the portrait? Why had Michael never mentioned Robert or Marguerite?


	43. Winter 13

Episode 13: Demons!

20th of Pluitanis

 

Michael had gone out and Patrick had gone to the magistrate outpost located to the north of the city, so Jeremie summoned the Heroes to his family's apartment to discuss further plans. "My father said that he has been gathering our army. He wants to wait until the spring thaw to retake Lyoko, though." Laura said. She crossed her legs. "Said something about improper equipment for trudging through snow. We'd lose more men to frostbite than to the drow."

Jeremie nodded. "That's probably for the best. It'd give us a month or so before we had to ship out, and in that time we can train and find better weapons and armor."

Yumi and Ulrich shared a look and then began to lay out plans and make suggestions seeing as they were the most experienced fighters. Odd paid attention for bit but as there was nothing particularly interesting he looked around the room, noticed the painting and spotted the same things Jeremie did. He also noted that Jeanne's finger pointed down at the fireplace. He pointed it out to the Wise Man, who admitted that he hadn't thought to pay attention to it. While the others spoke, Odd and Jeremie examined the fireplace.

But nothing appeared out of the ordinary. No buttons or switches were obvious. Jeremie kneeled and looked within the stones, and he spotted one with the letters 'A.H' carved into it. Taking care not to burn himself, he reached inside and pushed on the stone, and it created a chain reaction.

The fireplace shook, rattling the apartment. Angry shouts from the neighbors were drowned out by the cacophony of stones bumping up against each other. When it finally stopped moving, it revealed a passage through the wall, likely to the sewers. Inside of the walls were roots that seemed to pulsate with electricity. "That's dark elf magic. They act similarly to the Eluvians in the sense they're used to transport messages. They were developed since using mirrors in places without much light was inefficient for messages." Aelita identified. She ran her fingers across one, leaving behind red ripples. "I think they're faster as well."

Ulrich rubbed his temples. "Let me guess—we're going into the dark tunnel, aren't we?" Jeremie nodded, and he asked Laura to provide a light as they entered the tunnel. The Mercenary hid a smile when he heard Yumi mutter about how she wished they could investigate a flowery meadow or hillside.

The tunnel was long but obviously made for fast escapes. That did not mean it followed a straight course, rather it was twisted and descending and often times the Heroes would trip over their feet or on a stair that was far too steep. The farther they went, however, the dimmer Laura's light became despite their best efforts to keep it going. When it died, Yumi ordered them to hold hands while she used her night vision to lead them through the tunnels.

Eventually they came to a ladder, and the Colonist helped each teen climb it. When all of them had climbed to the top, they realized that they'd crossed the entire city and now stood on a bridge that connected Carthage to the Old City. The Old City was apparently where many dwarves lived before something wiped them out, though all that remained was an old building. It was strange—from the highest point in the city one could see a beautifully dilapidated city, but from here, it seemed as though it was a myth. Why had no one explored further? "Well, there's only one way to find out what this is." Jeremie said, smiling.

When they entered, they found no way of proceeding further without swinging on a set of ropes. Jeremie went first, followed by Odd, Laura and Aelita. Yumi caught the rope, and she looked back at Ulrich. "What, you aren't scared, are you?"

He recoiled. "N-no, of course not!" She smirked as she slid down the rope, and Ulrich caught it. His vision blurred as he looked down at the floor where his friends were, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He swung down, landing on the stone floor roughly.

Jeremie pointed to a lift typically used in dwarven mines. "Let's see where this goes." He announced as the teenagers looked. They piled inside of the lift, and Jeremie struggled to trigger the release. Yumi shooed him away from the release and pulled it herself, though it was too weak for her supernatural strength, and it snapped. The teens braced for impact, as they assumed that the lift would collapse and they would fall. However, it simply glided down the shaft until it reached a room lit by a blue-green aura.

All around were things that radiated magic, some beautiful works of art and some hideous monstrosities. In the center of it all was an Eluvian, steadfast and serene. Aelita and Ulrich coughed, writing it off as dust in the air. "What is all of this stuff? Why is it here?" Odd asked, picking up a bulwark designed to resemble a rose.

"I… don't know but I feel like this place oozes magic. How have the magistrates not located it?" Laura said.

Jeremie approached the Eluvian. He reached out to touch it, sliding his fingers against the glass. Odd cursed and dropped the bulwark, as thorns had grown on the handle. Jeremie squinted as something that wasn't the typical ripples darted across the glass. Laura gasped when she saw a dead body lying among the artifacts. "There's something… inside of the mirror." The Wise Man muttered.

"Jeremie, get away from that!" Aelita shouted, pulling on his shirt. He tore his eyes from the mirror to meet hers, but it was too late. Whatever was inside of the mirror lashed out, knocking him unconscious and spreading a miasma that made the Heroes fall into sleep. "Ulrich, get away from here! This mist is sending us to Bellanaris—you'll never survive a second trip!"

Ulrich shook his head. "I'm not leaving you all!" He shouted to keep himself awake. The Outcast grabbed hold of his blood and threw him across the room into the lift. When he started to stand, she froze over the entrance.

"Go get help! Tell them…" But she didn't have time to tell him what to say, because she and the other Heroes slipped into a deep, and for one restless, sleep.

 

Jeremie woke slowly, and his head felt heavy. Things around him seemed fuzzy, but somehow that seemed normal. He looked down to see his plans for an automaton based on dwarven engineering in front of him, designed basically to fetch things. A knock came to his bedroom door. "I… come in!" He said, his throat scratchy, like he'd slept all night with his mouth open.

Jeanne stood in the threshold, holding a plate with porridge and fresh juice. "Good morning, milord sunshine! I…" She paused, and laughed. Jeremie realized a piece of paper had stuck to his face. "Fell asleep at your desk again?"

"I… suppose. It's strange that I… can't quite remember what I was doing." He said as he began to eat the porridge.

His mother stroked his hair lovingly. "I'm sure you were simply lost in thought."

 

There was no one around. At first Odd was certain he'd killed them all, but as he ran through the depressing forest under the constant moon, he realized that simply no one was there. It was a wonderful feeling, not to be tied down by his fears of hurting someone he was close to. In time their faces faded and he was free. He remembered nothing but the exhilaration of the forest, the moon pulsing energy through his limbs. When he grew tired he slept, and when he was hungry he ate. Wolves could speak, and they all loved his jokes. They cackled like brethren in the moonlight, unbothered by the cares of the world. And Odd simply accepted it.

 

"Princess? Are you ready to begin preparations?" A servant asked, knocking politely on her door. Laura welcomed them in, and motioned for William to leave. He smiled as he did so, promising to return soon in proper attire. Laura enjoyed herself as the servants washed and brushed her hair, and struggled to remain calm as her formal attire—a long dark dress with rich blue fabric in the sleeves and for the belt - was fitted to her. Pearls were wrapped around her neck and braided into her hair before it was pulled up.

Soon enough William returned in his black ceremonial armor. "Come on, Princess. You don't want to be late your own party." He said, offering his hand.

 

Yumi stretched as she woke with the morning sun, and she realized something had reflected it into her eyes. A mirror leaned against her wardrobe. She rolled her eyes and hung it from a wall. Then she watched her reflection as she started to brush her hair and prepare for the day. Hiroki whipped open the door, mocking her with something juvenile she shouldn't have been daunted by. Nevertheless she angrily chased him, and he laughed as he fled. Eventually Yumi caught him, and she tickled him until he agreed to stop teasing her. A servant entered the room. "Come on, Master and Miss Ishiyama. Your breakfast is ready."

 

In her dream, she was being held by someone who loved her. He was brave and handsome and caring, and his touch was gentle. She loved him, and she wanted to show him, so she gave herself to him. They slept the night into the day.

But like all dreams, Maya's came to a close when she awoke. Lowel had grown no kinder as Maya had grown older and more beautiful. He'd moved them just outside of town so he could have a space to himself, or so he said. In truth he had created a space for him and Maya to spend what he called 'father-daughter' time together. Eleanor didn't know about this; she assumed that Lowel was working and Maya was in her bed chambers. Milly experienced none of his 'bonding', but Maya was happy that she could shield her sister from such cruelness.

She sat up, shaking. Lowel sat up, hearing her move. He told her gruffly to prepare breakfast. Gathering every bit of her courage, Maya spoke up. "You can't treat me like this anymore!"

He looked at her, anger and confusion written on his face. "What did you say?" He growled.

"I'm supposed to be your daughter, not your plaything!" She argued, fumbling for her breastcloth. "What if Eleanor finds out? What if… what if anyone finds out?! Please, I can't live like this anymore!"

Lowel struck her, and she hit her head on the wall. "Tell anyone about this and I swear I will personally see you hanged!" He hissed. "You and your kind stole my real daughter, so the least you could do is be grateful!"

Maya forced back tears. He ordered her to dress and leave before his wife came and found them together.

 

Ulrich had stumbled up to the main level, and he approached the ropes. After two failed attempts to climb them, he shouted angrily that he didn't have time to mess around. Determined, he set out to climb it again until a hand yanked him down. He struggled to reach his sword but someone threw it. The person dropped him, and the Mercenary turned to face his opponent. He looked straight into his father's eyes. "Dad? What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"I could ask you the same question, young man." His father said coldly. Two other men approached, and Ulrich realized he recognized them—Michael Belpois and Franz Hopper. They all wore the same outfit—thick red tunics, blue leggings, salmon-colored scarves and cloaks, and bunched up near their throats was blue fabric intended to cover their faces. They also wore blue fingerless gloves, though Franz was without the goggles that Aren and Michael wore. He did, however, wear a long white coat. "Let me guess—you took the passage here through the sewer." Aren looked to Michael. "I told you that we should've blocked up that damn hole after Hopper here took Jeanne's place."

"How was I to know that they would find it?" Michael asked. "Jeremie is smart but he's not exactly one to look at small details, and I thought it may come in handy in the future, which it has, or have you already forgotten?"

Aren scrunched up his nose. "No, I haven't."

"What is going on?" Ulrich asked. "What is this, some sort of club?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is finding out why you've come here." Franz said. Ulrich explained the situation, and the men's eyes grew wider. "By the Creator! Your children have stumbled upon Mehormanda!" The elf shouted.

"Mehormanda…? Why does that sound familiar?" Ulrich wondered aloud.

Franz dismissed him. "Michael, go contact your nephew. I understand that two of those children are mages, yes? We may need him. Aren, secure the lift. Don't let any of the others into the Archives. I'm going after them in Bellanaris."

"But, Franz, what about… your condition?" Michael asked.

"I'll be fine! Go!"

 

Through meditation and channeling of his ill-gotten magic, Franz was able to transcend the Veil and allow his spirit to consciously enter the Beyond. He shielded himself in a pink-white light to protect himself from demons. One by one, he faced the demons of the teenagers trapped within the beyond after determining which one Mehormanda truly desired.

The first dreamer he came across was Jeremie. He smiled up at Jeanne, whom Franz was surprised to see. "You are Jeanne's son?" He asked.

Jeremie looked at the elf strangely. "I… who are you? Have we met?"

Jeanne hissed at Franz, her eyes turning orange. "I beg you, do not disturb him. He is in the middle of designing automations."

Franz folded his arms. "You are Jeremie, correct?" He asked. The boy nodded. "Think about what you're doing here, and why."

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "I do not know what this will accomplish, but if it gets you out of my hair sooner, I'll try it." He closed his eyes, and a look of confusion spread across his face. "That's strange. I'm having trouble concentrating."

"Perhaps coming with me will ease your mind." Franz said, offering his hand. Jeremie nodded, and he stood. Jeanne forced him down, and she hissed at Franz. He conjured a crossbow and fired a bolt at her, causing her to burst into dust.

"Mom!" Jeremie said, sifting his fingers through the dust. He wept.

Franz pulled him up rather gruffly. "That wasn't your mother, Jeremie. I knew her. She was a good woman, but Falon'din has taken her soul. She's been gone for years."

He nodded. "I remember her funeral. I… can't believe I was fooled by such a stupid trick. Let's keep this between us, okay?"

"We have more important things to do than worry about your pride." He quickly explained the situation. "Now follow me. We need to rescue the rest of your friends." He held out his hand, creating a rift in the dream. He motioned for Jeremie to walk ahead of him.

Like Jeremie, Odd and Laura were relatively easy to convince, and thus it was easy to pull them from their dreams. Yumi, on the other hand, was not so easily swayed. "Do you really expect me to believe that I'm in a dream? Let me tell you, if this were a dream, my little brother would be serving me breakfast in bed, not showering my face in it." She said as she brushed rice out of her raven black hair.

Laura huffed. "Don't you remember? Dhaune has your brother! He's a slave to the drow!"

"My lady, he's right over there." She pointed to him.

"That's just a fake!" Jeremie argued. "I thought my mother was in the dream as well, but that's all it is! A dream!

Yumi shook her head. "No, it's not. I'm not leaving with you."

Odd looked at the Wise Man. "I didn't know that vampires could even dream. Aren't they technically dead?"

She glared at Odd. "What did you call me?"

"A vampire. You… don't remember?" Odd asked.

She seemed angry, but then her angry faded to confusion. "I remember tasting blood, and always feeling a faint thirst… oh gods, am I a vampire?" Yumi looked at her reflection in the nearest mirror. "I look human, and I have a reflection… but now that I think about it, I feel… I feel…"

Hiroki grabbed her shirt. "Play with me, Yumi! I want to rescue you from an evil witch!" He shouted impatiently.

"Not now, Hiroki. Go away." She dismissed him. She looked at the others. "If I go with you, will I learn the truth?" Franz nodded, and she said, "Very well. Take me with you." Hiroki huffed, and rather than attacking, he melted into the ground. Yumi leaned against the wall, clutching her head, screaming in agony. Laura tried her best to ease the pain but discovered quickly that she couldn't. Yumi looked up with glowing orange eyes, sobbing.

The walls, floor ceiling all became mirrors, reflecting Jeremie, Franz, Odd and Laura at a thousand different angles. In none of the reflections was there an image of Yumi, and consequently, she looked like she floated. A high-pitched feminine voice called, "Very well, take my dreamers. I am still powerful. And you are all unhappy." There was laughter, and the teenagers hugged Yumi before helping her up.

She wept into her hand. "For a moment, everything was normal again." She whispered.

 

Once he had all four of the dreamers, Franz had the power he needed to open the way to the true danger—Aelita. "You are no longer in your own dream. If you die, you will wake up and you will be fine, so fear not death. But know that should Aelita fall to this demon, she must die or all of Mediterra is doomed."

Jeremie tried to protest, but Franz accepted no argument. He led them into the dreamed Falcon's Bridge, and he pointed to a gathering of people. A girl who resembled Aelita stood in the crowd, though she wasn't a perfect copy. She was rounder, and long pink braids peaked out from under her cap. She also did not appear to have her vallaslin, and around her wrists were shackles made by magistrates to stop the flow of magic. She had free arm movement, but she couldn't access her magic.

The teenagers entered the city, though they noticed many of the residents eyeing them strangely. "They're just projections. Ignore them." Franz advised. They approached the elf girl, and Franz caught her shoulder. "Aelita. Your name is Aelita, yes?" He asked. The girl shook her head, and corrected him. "Maya, then. May I speak with you?"

"I wish I could stay and chat, but I really must pick up things for dinner." She said. She turned to walk away, but Franz caught her again. Maya jerked away, as if she disliked being touched. "I'd ask that you not touch me."

"This is too important to delay. Maya, listen to me. You are in terrible danger. Mehormanda is after you." Franz warned.

"…Mehormanda? I'm afraid I don't know who that is." She said.

"Mehormanda is a powerful and malevolent spirit. She seeks to break you and terrorize the physical world."

Maya dropped the basket she held, and she took a few steps back. "No! I've done everything right! I did everything he told me to do! Demons can't find me!"

"What have you done? What makes you think that they can't find you?"

"I don't use magic, I don't sing, I don't dance, I do everything I'm told… even when I think that I shouldn't." She muttered the last part. "Even when it feels wrong or when it hurts. But… he isn't lying, is he? My father."

"If he told you that not using magic or avoiding joy will keep you from the spirits that haunt this realm, then yes, he lied to you. No mage is safe from spirits." He paused. "What… else has he done?"

"No! You can't ask those sorts of things! He'll kill me!" Maya panicked. "No, go away! You… you're a liar!" She ran away, and Franz ordered Odd to destroy the shackles on her arms. Taking aim, the Scout fired arrows at the metal. Spirit arrows striking metal dissolved it, and they soon realized why she wore them.

The stone road twisted under her feet, becoming sharp rocks. She turned and sprinted out of town, every step she took leaving behind a bit of snow or a patch of spring grass. Jeremie rushed after her. "We have to catch her—hurry!" He shouted. As they ran, Franz asked why Aelita was trying so hard to be human. Yumi briefly explained her backstory, how she was a changeling in an abusive household. Franz mentioned how strange she'd been acting, and speculated that the abuse was more than just the mental effects that Yumi discussed. "It's either that or the demon combined her fears she experienced at Arak-Muna and the Gypsy to create a less stable environment that would be easy to create weakness in." Jeremie theorized.

"Mehormanda could create such fears or desires if she wished to," the elf agreed, "but it is far easier to nurse those that already exist."

"Wait a minute. Who in Tartarus are you, anyway?" Laura asked Franz, stopping dead in her tracks. The others stopped as well, much to Jeremie's dismay. "I appreciate everything you've done for us so far. I do. But… we've only met once before, and I can't imagine that this is quite your line of work. Who are you?"

"Now is not the time. If we dillydally here then it is more likely that Aelita will fall." Franz said.

"No! I won't go any farther with you until I know who you are! I won't be fooled by your helpful demeanor! What if you're really a demon, leading us to our doom? How would we know?"

"You know you are no longer in your dream, yes? You can feel that, can't you?" Franz asked. Laura nodded. "Then know that should you die here, you will reawaken in your body unharmed. If you do not trust me further, then I will kill you so you don't have to continue." Laura thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. Hold still."

Franz created a crossbow in his mind, and he took aim. His bolt struck Laura's heart.

 

Laura sat up, holding her heart. She sighed, glad to back in her own body.

 

Jeremie had left the others behind, fearing for his love. His apparition quickly got used to being in the Beyond and he moved through her dream quickly. He came across a clearing, and a few meters away stood Aelita, shivering. She seemed anxious, not cold, though it looked like she'd been stuck in the woods for years. Her clothes were torn and her shoes were gone, holes now ripped in her stockings. Nervously, she pulled her cap off, and she yelped when thorny vines grew on it. "Aelita! Thank the gods that I found you!" Jeremie called out, causing the girl to turn. She'd pulled her hands in, her palms facing her chest, as if she were afraid she would break something.

"Stay back! I don't want to…" Her voice trailed off. "…Jeremie?"

He sighed happily. "You remember me?"

"Sort of," She said, confusion obvious in her tone. "I… remember you from my dreams. Father said that… that they're not real and that they're a fool's escape."

"It seems to me that your father has been saying a lot of things lately that aren't true." Jeremie said. "Maybe I can help set your mind at ease. Tell me about your dreams." And she did, though she babbled nervously and her face turned bright red. "Aelita, listen to me. Those aren't dreams. What you're describing is reality. This is the Beyond. This is a dream."

"No no no! Dreams are supposed to be happy; they're supposed to be a release from reality!" She argued. "I know that this is life because I am living a nightmare!" He tried to persuade her otherwise, looking over his shoulder as the remaining three dreamers ran up. "My mind is cruel to me, dreaming images that aren't here."

A voice resonated through the air. "They're deceiving you. They wish to lure you into the Beyond to destroy your soul. You'll just be a husk, a living breathing body without a soul to occupy it." A woman materialized a few meters in the air, landing harshly on the ground. She was curvy, her long black hair hanging delicately around her shoulders. Her eyes were all black, the irises glowing pale purple. Her back, arms and legs were covered in tough blue scales, and darkness hung around her body like a toga. "You have power enough to rule this world, and yet they seek to rule you? Absurd!" She said, sashaying closer, her voice high-pitched and feminine.

"Mehormanda! Get away from her!" Franz ordered.

She cowered. "Oh, but how could I disobey when you say that in such a demanding and authoritative tone?" To just him via telepathy, she teased, "You breathe because of me. Do not interfere."

He conjured a sword. "I breathe because I fight and I fight because I must!" He shouted.

Mehormanda cowered behind Aelita, who sympathetically reached out for her. Jeremie grabbed her arms, fearful that simple contact would result in possession. She struggled against him, and he begged her to remain calm and to try to wake up. Aelita tore her hands away, but in doing so, she realized a bit of her magic.

It materialized when it hit the earth as sharp icicles, and Jeremie found himself unable to move. He looked down to find that the ice had pierced his chest, and though he couldn't see or feel it, he assumed it showed through his back as well. Aelita panicked. "Jeremie! I'm so sorry! I—I didn't mean for this to happen!"

He couldn't speak, and he felt his body disappear.

 

He sat up with a start, and after holding his chest where he'd been impaled, he rubbed his forehead. Laura crawled over to him, and asked how he felt. "I've been better." He shook his head, and he motioned for them to move out of the way.

 

Maya saw the fear in the eyes of Yumi and Odd, and she ran away. Mehormanda reached out to grab her, but she forced herself to keep running. Mehormanda stood. "You. You stole my dreamer." She hissed.

Franz prepared to strike. "She's not awake yet. But you will not have her."

Mehormanda laughed, floating around the world she'd created. "But I will. And today is the day that I escape this prison. I will be free!"

"You will not! Not while I breathe!" He shouted, throwing his conjured sword. Mehormanda vanished, and the trees came to life. They roared and swung their branches. Yumi used her supernatural strength to stop the one that tried to strike her. Odd was not so lucky, dodging the first only to be woken by the second.

 

Odd's eyes widened, and he coughed. He cursed as he sat up. Jeremie motioned for him to move away from the mirror.

 

Franz snatched up Yumi, dashing away from the living trees. She squirmed out of his grasp, and when she hit the ground, she scrambled up and continued to run. "Why did Mehormanda target Aelita? Wouldn't Laura have more influence?" Yumi asked.

"If Aelita truly is a changeling, then I imagine she was born in Halamshiral. If this theory is correct then she was exposed to Mehormanda's essence, and Aelita is weaker to her and her brother."

"How do you know so much about these Archdemons?"

"It is my fault that they have influence on this realm. I will not let anyone else perish at their hands."

"What do you mean? Who died?"

"My wife, and my child. I was too wrapped up in my work to realize that I had put them in danger. I don't know why I survived, but it is my curse to bear."

Yumi stopped running. She connected the pieces in her mind. "Oh gods, you're Waldo Sarethari." She whispered. "You're Waldo Sarethari!" She shouted.

Franz spun around to face her. "How do you know that name?!" He demanded.

"You have to listen to me. Your wife—" She began, though she didn't have a chance to finish. A wooden sword was plunged through her gut, and she cursed as she vanished.

 

Yumi woke in a ball, her stomach pulsating in pain as the memory of the sword was fresh in her mind. She managed to lift her fist and bring it down angrily on the ground.

 

Franz froze the tree guardian that had woken Yumi, and he cursed that he would have to wait to hear what she had to say. He turned and ran through the twisted path marked by stacked stones until he came to a lake. A large stump stood in the center, and he created two smaller stumps so he could climb up.

He found Aelita curled up in a ball, sobbing. "Why are you crying?" He asked.

"I killed him! I can't control my curse!" She said. She scurried away from the older elf, fear in her eyes. "No, stay back! I don't want to hurt you too!"

Franz folded his arms. "You can control it. You must or it will control you."

"I can't!" She sobbed, pushing her hands so close to her chest that they caused pain.

"I know you can! Look at me!" He ordered. She looked up at him, and he created a projection in his hands. It showed Aelita, not as she was in the dream but in reality. She stood shakily, and she rubbed the projection. "You can control yourself. I know that you can. What do you see in this projection? What do you remember?"

"I… I can control it…" Was all she could say. She looked down at her trembling hands. She turned her back to Franz, and she waved with her hands. She created an ice sculpture that resembled the older elf, and she laughed, as if it was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen. She created six more, five he recognized as her friends in reality and the last resembling a dark elf man that he assumed she knew. "I can control it!"

"Now listen to me. You must wake up." Franz said.

Aelita smiled at him. She looked away, pulling her cap from her head. "I feel… so alive, as if I've woken from a long sleep." She pulled the bands out of her braids, letting her hair flow free. He noted that she had a lot of hair—it reached almost to her hips—and then she asked, "This… is a dream, yes?" When he nodded, she said, "Then… I can finally be free." She summoned her magic, twisting the Beyond to change her clothes. She now wore a loose magenta vest and matching miniskirt, bandages wrapped up her legs.

Franz smiled. "Do you remember your past now?"

"…Sort of. It's still blurry, but I remember… parts of it." She said. She walked forward, climbing down via the stumps he'd created. Then, the Outcast held out her hand. "I can do this."

Her body glimmered, and when she walked again, Aelita vanished into thin air. Mehormanda materialized behind the elder elf, and he conjured a sword. "You. Why did you interfere?" She demanded.

He smirked. "You destroyed many lives. You will destroy no more."

Mehormanda shrugged, and she used her magic to show the elf an image. A corpse lay at the feet of the Eluvian that trapped Mehormanda. It pushed against it, shattering the glass. "My brother has freed me. This will not be the last time we meet." She said. He lunged at her, but she laughed and vanished, her smile remaining for a few moments.

Franz pushed himself up off the stump. "Elgar'nan!" He cursed. Darciflamius must've already escaped from his mirror and searched Mediterra for his sister. Now that they were together, it was his duty to track them down and destroy them. He created an image of his wife in his hand, mourning her again before plunging his conjured sword into his gut.


	44. Winter 14

Episode 14: the Red Scholars

20th of Molioris, 4:91 East

 

Michael and Jeanne explored the clearing, the wife taking special care to protect her baby from the cold, tainted air. Her family's research notes suggested children his age, when exposed to the miasmic reach of a demon, could be around it and not experience any of the negative effects like insanity or exponential magical growth, but nothing was conclusive. Furthermore, since most of the Belpois family's time was devoted to either their work with the Red Scholars or Jeremie, it was getting increasingly more difficult to acquire gold. Jeremie reached up for his mother's face, and she lovingly cooed at him, shaking an elven rattle at him. He grabbed it and began to gnaw on it.

"Jeanne! Come quickly! There's someone here… I think he's still alive!" Michael called. His wife ran to his side, preparing her elvhen wrist device, which she had called the Tainted Arcane Scanner—as it was used to detect what was tainted by dark magic or curses, and in minor cases could reverse or even remove the taint—and looked upon the body of the man that her husband had found. He was bruised, beaten to within an inch of his life, and most of his clothes had been burned, leaving the stitching scarred on his flesh. Michael removed his cloak as Jeanne scanned the elf, taking note of his singed hair and vallaslin. She flinched as the results caused the screen on the TAS to flicker and showed them to her husband. "These results are unlike anything I've ever seen before. We should be extra careful with both him and that mirror." Michael said, motioning towards the intimidatingly serene elvhen mirror looming about a hundred meters away. The spring grass that surrounded it had died, and the glass showed no reflection. "This man looks like one of the wilder elves. How did he get here? Do the clans frequent this part of Lyoko, I mean, at all?"

Jeanne shrugged. "Not this time of year, I don't think. Most of the nomadic clans have turned back to go to Arlathan for the Arlathvhen—you know, that festival Shriuque was going on about." She said as her husband conjured a small blue light to cleanse the man of the taint. "We're in the southeastern sector of Lyoko. I doubt that the clans would have left him here, and he certainly didn't come all this way by himself—look at his fingers. He's a scholar, not a warrior. He never would have made it past the slavers at either Bastium or Arak-Muna."

"Do you think that the mirror carried him all this way?" Michael asked, obviously confused.

She shrugged again. "Judging by the calculations on the TAS, I can only guess that we're dealing with an Archdemon. I don't doubt that it could've carried him all this way."

Her husband took a sharp breath in as he began to heal the burns. "It's a good thing we were in the area. He probably would've died had the TAS not detected the mirror."

Jeanne agreed passively as she dug through her bag. She pulled out a roll of bandages and assisted her husband in bandaging the elf's healing wounds—the taint was still present and white magic like healing would take longer to work. Suddenly the elf's eyes flew open, and he flailed his arms as he scurried away from the humans. The Belpois family screamed and flinched as ice flew at them. Michael created a fiery wall to protect them, much to their relief. Jeremie started to cry fearfully, and Jeanne rocked him, shushing him quietly. "Ga rahn! Ga rahn, shemlen!" The elf shouted before looking at his hands and shuddering as his pain hit him.

"Easy, friend. We don't want to hurt you. Quite the opposite, in fact." Michael said, inching closer. Jeanne huffed when she realized that there would be grass stains for her to wash out later.

"Nae!" He hissed, shuddering again. "Hurting people is all your kind ever does!"

Jeanne looked unamused, but Michael shrugged. "I know that it may be hard for you to do. I don't know what you've gone through. But you've been tainted by a cursed mirror, and if you don't get help, you'll die. You're going to have to take a leap of faith and trust me."

The elf narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and he caught sight of Jeanne—or more likely, he caught sight of what Jeanne held, a small child who cried. "Anthea," He whispered, and he forced himself to stand. "ANTHEA?!" He shouted, looking around. "MA SA'LATH! ANTHEA NA MARA SAN!"

"Who is Anthea?" Jeanne asked, standing. The elf noted that the husband and wife wore identical outfits, excepting that her tunic was longer to act as a dress and she also wore a white coat.

"My wife… she… was with me when the Eluvian…" He struggled to complete thoughts. How could he have been so careless? As his worry and depression grew, so did his magic, freezing the baby grass and causing moss to grow upon the trunks of nearby trees. "Have you found anyone else nearby? An elvhen woman with long pink hair, heavy with child?"

"No, we haven't. You're the only person we found nearby." Michael said.

The elf collapsed, and he started crying into his hands. Jeanne and Michael exchanged sad looks, and they tried their best to console the man. When he had calmed down some, they introduced themselves. When asked what his name was, he hesitated, as if he didn't understand what they were asking. "My name is Franz Hopper." He said firmly, as if trying to convince himself more than them.

 

20th of Pluitanis, 5:09 Guardian

Aelita was the last of the dreamers to awaken, and when she did so, she found the others to be shuddering from wounds received after their individual awakenings. She looked at the Eluvian and gasped, seeing that it had fallen. The Outcast scurried to their sides, helping them as best she could. Laura managed to heal her own wounds, and then proceeded to heal the others. Yumi, meanwhile, noticed the absence of Ulrich and frantically began to carve at the slowly melting wall of ice that separated the room they were in from the lift. "Ulrich?" She shouted through the ice.

"He should have escaped the Beyond." Aelita answered in his place, while still watching as Laura healed Jeremie. "Hopefully he climbed up the shaft; I'm pretty sure there was a latter along the side." She looked with concern to the others. "What happened? You shouldn't have come out of the sleeping with wounds."

Odd stood shakily. "There was a damned possessed corpse in here. He was waiting to see if Mehormanda would possess you, and when she didn't, he stood. We tried our best to stop him, but he defeated us and destroyed the Eluvian."

“Can you help me clear this ice?" Yumi requested worriedly. Aelita nodded and moved to help.

When Jeremie's wounds had healed, Laura moved to the lift and used her fire magic to clear away the remaining ice. After that she moved aside and Jeremie went to the lift and tried his best to repair the lever, and the others joined him. They waited in silence as the lift pulled them towards the main level. The Wise Man took Aelita's hand gently, rubbing it. She smiled faintly and took a step closer to him.

When the lift reached the top, they found Franz Hopper, Aren and Ulrich Stern, Michael and Patrick Belpois and Shriuque Dendar waiting for them. Franz rolled up his sleeve and looked at his taint scanner, which Jeanne had called the TAS though Franz called Scipio. "Michael, Shriuque, they've been exposed to Mehormanda's taint. Help them."

"Yes, Archivist." They said in unison, summoning twin blue lights. They waved them over the teenagers, cleansing them. Jeremie looked at his father and whispered that he'd never mentioned he was a mage, and Michael simply laughed nervously before rejoining the others.

"Well, children, I guess you already know that this isn't your everyday office meeting." Franz said with a smile. "I guess the only thing I can say is… welcome to the Factory."

 

13th of Matrinalis, 5:01 Guardian

Jeanne was in Carthage on business, or more accurately, she had returned to see if everything was running smoothly within the walls of the Factory. As the Archivist, it was her duty to see that everything was in order—that the priests were cleansing the cursed objects, that the mages and the scholars were pouring over books and grimoires to find more effective ways to cleanse cursed relics, and the fighters were preparing to take on any threat that may come from so much darkness in one place.

Gently, she entered the room that Franz had in the Factory. As a wilder elf, few people would work with him or rent him property, and he refused staying with the Belpois family on account of potential rumors that may have spread that would tarnish their good name. He struggled with one of the dwarven books. Jeanne knew very little about Franz's past. She knew he was born a slave and he'd married a wilder elf, who died after Mehormanda's Eluvian spread her miasma. He'd been taught to read and write in the Common tongue, which was very peculiar. The laws had been abolished before Jeremie was born, but an elf of Franz's age shouldn't have been permitted near written words. Jeanne knew why the laws existed but they'd never felt right to her, and she tried to preach equality to the people she met who supported the law.

Other than that, the only other thing that she knew about him was that he had a sister who was taken away and sold to another group of slavers at a young age. This was told in confidence to her alone and she'd promised not to tell anyone. Jeanne always said a woman was only as good as her word. "Franz?" Jeanne said.

He looked up, pushing his spectacles up his nose, as they had fallen. "Yes, Archivist?" He asked as he stood, clumsily hitting a table.

"I have your new assignment." She said, handing him a file with a description of the cursed relic and a letter from a nobleman named Hans Klotz.

He looked up at her in confusion. "Is there a reason why you couldn't mail me this target?"

"You will be evaluated for a higher ranking position within the Red Scholars." Jeanne said, smiling weakly. "I'm considering you for my First."

Franz recoiled slightly, surprised. "What about Michael? Isn't he your First?" He asked, running his hand through his hair.

"To a young Archivist, the First symbolizes the future of the Scholars in the event that something were to happen to him or her." Jeanne said, shifting uncomfortably. "Michael has resigned from his position as my First, because in the event something happens to me, he will be needed to watch over Jeremie. Likewise, if something were, gods forbid, to happen to him, I would have to step down from my position to care for our son."

"But why me and not one of my seniors?" He asked, motioning out to the other initiates.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Franz, but you're really the only qualified person in the Factory who could drop everything to take on the duties of Archivist." She said gently. "You don't have a job outside of this, and the others respect you. You've grown a lot in these past few years but things are getting more dangerous." She shifted again. "Why? Don't you want to be my First?"

He panicked. "No! I mean yes, I want to!" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. Yes, if you find me worthy, I will be more than happy to be your First." He admitted more softly, "I just don't like the idea of taking over… well, everything that goes on here if you were to die."

Jeanne laughed, bending over to hold her knees. "Oh, please, Franz!" She laughed, looking up at him. "I plan on sticking around long enough to identify your corpse after you drag me and my husband into another of your crazy schemes!" They laughed together.

 

20th of Pluitanis, 5:09 Guardian

Three years. He could barely believe it had been three, almost four, years since Jeanne had died in an orc raid. Franz lived with her death on his shoulders like he did with the deaths of Anthea and his unborn child. The orcs, who were hostile to begin with, were after a relic they'd cursed in a time before time. Franz had taken a ship back to Carthage with it exactly twelve hours before the orcs raided.

Michael didn't blame Franz. He'd said simply in his letter that Jeanne had died doing what she had always wanted to do—protect family and friends from threats both arcane and mundane. But he couldn't help but feel in his heart that if he'd been there, things would have turned out differently.

Jeremie looked so much like his mother. Aspects of his father's face were there, but the eyes and hair, even the way he pushed his spectacles all reminded Franz of his best friend. He didn't even want to think about who Aelita—or was her name Maya? The Beyond always left him confused—reminded him of.

He explained the history of the Red Scholars as he led them to the Laboratory, or more plainly the large office where Franz worked to locate cursed relics in remote areas, investigate private requests and perhaps drawing up the occasional forged document to make it seem like the less legal pursuits of the Scholars were ignored by the law.

The Red Scholars were founded in the late years of the Origin Age, when cursed elvhen items began to wreak havoc upon the human population, and even the assimilated elves. They converted an old dwarven building into their outpost, and they began to accept non-human members in 3:95 Codex. Many of the items they cleansed were put in temples, museums and in more recent years—starting with Jeanne's father, the Archivist before her—the elvhen and dwarven relics were returned to them through economic or social channels.

"What you came across in the Archives was Mehormanda's Eluvian. She is a demon that plagued the elvhen city of Halamshiral. She killed many people, I assume." He said weakly. He turned to face them when they reached the Laboratory. "Her signature is giving small children, preferably babies, great magic without the skill to correctly wield it. Many fall to lesser spirits, but the stronger ones she protects and causes their magic to grow. Then she takes back the magic, and the soul with it."

"Why would Mehormanda kill her pet? Don't demons prefer living vessels?" Laura asked.

Franz scoffed. "Who said anything about killing the host? Mehormanda takes the soul, not the life. When she does this, what is left behind… it doesn't happen very often in human society, so I don't know if you have a name for it. The elvhen call them the Wight. It's a very drastic form of the Blind."

Ulrich folded his arms. "What's the difference between the Wight and the Blind?"

"Quite a bit. The similarities between the Wight and the Blind are few. They are preternaturally cut off from the Beyond, and they cannot dream or use magic. However, while the Blind can spend a limited amount of time there and possess a spiritual avatar there, the Wight can never enter the Beyond." Franz explained. "This presents other problems. They are capable of basic functions, such as sleeping, eating, speaking, but everything they do is without emotion."

Odd seemed very confused. "I don't understand. How can someone exist without emotion?"

"The elvhen say that everything unseen in the Garden comes from Bellanaris, including emotions. While the Blind cannot be present physically there, they still possess a soul, and so they have emotions." Franz explicated. "The Wight have lost their soul, likely by having it taken from them in their dream. Mehormanda believes this makes her stronger." He ran his fingers through his hair. "It rarely happens, but sometimes the magistrates will make a mage Wight if they believe he or she is too powerful for their skill. I've seen it happen once, to a young boy."

He remembered it, though he'd blocked out some of the memories. The boy had a lover, and when they met for the next to last time after the Altering, it had been painful. The words reverberated in his mind; the lover had thought that the mage had amnesia and was trying to cure it, and the Wight mage said flatly, "Your name is Jon Montagne. We were engaging in sexual relations. Please, if you do not have an appointment with the Knight Templar, I must ask you to leave."

The lover, Jon, had been floored. "W—what? I'm not leaving! I love you!"

"I once knew myself to be in love with you. I feel no such thing now. I belong to the Knight-Commander." The Wight had replied, "He is the only one who can command me."

Franz looked back up at the Heroes. "His lover killed the Wight and himself, rather than watch him be… soulless." He said.

Laura pulled her hands in. "I haven't heard of this." She whispered. "It sounds terrible."

Yumi rubbed her arms. "It happens frequently in Nippon, since many people are afraid of magic. Though the Wight, as you say, aren't typically allowed outside of Ishiroin, where the Assembly is held. We call them Muhyojona."

"I have heard of the Assembly. It seems terribly… wasteful to me to lock up mages where they can't do any good." Franz said, and he remembered wishing to speak to Initiate Takeho's daughter. He motioned for her to enter the Laboratory. "You had something to tell me?"

"Yes, and it's important. Aelita, will you come with me?" Yumi said. The Outcast looked at the Wise Man, who thought for a moment before he nodded.

 

About an hour passed, and the Heroes were trying their best to get used to the idea that many of their friends and family members were involved in a secret society, albeit one dedicated to protecting mortals. Takeho Ishiyama, Mari and Aren Stern, Robert, Marguerite and Louise Della-Robbia, Shriuque and James Dendar, Michael Belpois as well as many others they didn't know. They perhaps totaled twenty-two in all.

For the teenagers, it was hard to imagine their parents, most of who had once appeared to have very civil, perhaps even boring, pasts, to be fighters, mages and guardians. It was even harder for Jeremie, whose father was doting and appeared to be a completely normal person, to have hidden a secret like magic for so long. He'd never once mentioned it.

Michael then asked the teens to enter the conference room, where they were to wait with him until Franz arrived. Yet, as they couldn't help but expect, Jeremie's father and Franz's First would not explain why they were waiting.

Yumi and Aelita entered about fifteen minutes later, the Colonist having to help the elvhen girl to walk. Jeremie jumped up and helped Aelita into the seat next to him. He caught sight of a slight smile on his father's face, but it was gone before he could question it. "Are you alright? What happened?" He asked, concerned.

Aelita could say nothing, simply looking wide-eyed at the floor. She shook violently, and Jeremie tried his best to calm her down. In the meantime, Yumi proclaimed to the group, "Franz Hopper is Waldo Sarethari."

"No way! Waldo Sarethari was vaporized by Mehormanda's Eluvian!" Ulrich argued.

"People don't just vanish, Ulrich! There was no body, no mirror—and Franz himself confirmed it!" Yumi shouted.

Jeremie looked to Aelita. "Your father is alive?" He asked. She nodded. At first there was nothing but concern on both of their faces, but then they both smiled and embraced. "Your father is alive! That's wonderful news!"

The door opened and a tall elven woman ran in, her mousy brown hair cropped short and her eyes black as night. She was thin, almost fragile-looking, and she seemed awfully nervous. "Mister Belpois, my brother asked me to give this to you. He didn't say why." She said.

Aelita looked away from her friends to look at the woman. Her eyes widened. "Thank you, Mirianye," Michael said politely, "You're quite useful to have around, you know that?"

She laughed. "That's what they tell me!"

Aelita stood shakily. "Mamae Asha?" She whispered.

Mirianye looked over at her, and her jaw dropped. "Gods above, Aelita!" For a moment, neither could move, and no one else dared to. Jeremie clawed at his thigh, trying hard to keep his mouth shut. At that moment, all of his frustration about Aelita's past was directed precisely at Mirianye—and in his mind it was justified, as she'd told Aelita that she would never be free, that she would have to be submissive in order to survive—and it took everything he had not to lash out at her. "What are you doing here?"

"My friends and I found a secret passage and came to investigate." Aelita said simply. "What are you doing here?"

Mirianye shifted awkwardly, uncomfortable in her uniform. "Franz, the Archivist—he's my older brother. We were separated a long time ago, and even though we've both changed a lot since then, it's good to be near family again."

"Franz is my father." Aelita whispered.

Mirianye was stunned. "I knew that he was married but I'd never met her. I was under the impression that she—and you—were dead." Quietly, she admitted, "I thought… you were dead, sweet thing. The Gypsy…"

Laura looked at Mirianye strangely. "How would you have known about what happened at the Gypsy?"

"The owner came himself and demanded to know who taught Aelita and Emily. After we heard why, they were ready to kill me. Luckily, Franz had tracked me down and bought me before they could." Mirianye explained. She moved around the table as if to get closer to Aelita, though Jeremie then stood and subconsciously blocked Aelita from moving closer to her former mentor. Mamae Asha stared at him for a moment, and his girlfriend silently and gently pushed away his arm. The two elves embraced, Mirianye stroking her rose hair. Jokingly, she whispered, "I don't think the blond one likes me."

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't like you!" He said loudly.

"Jeremie!" Michael said in shock as Aelita and Mirianye looked at him.

"Aelita, don't you remember what she told you! Why on Mediterra would you be happy to see her?" He demanded. She nodded as she approached him. When he tried to speak again, she placed a hand on his lips.

"She kept me alive. She kept me safe. I would not have survived without her." She said. "Mamae Asha didn't make me a slave, Jeremie. The slavers did that. Without her, I would've died, either at the hands of slavers or my own." Jeremie didn't seem very convinced, but she smiled sweetly and placed her hand on his cheek. "Her methods may have been wrong, but I still owe her a lot. You don't have to like her, but my past is not her fault, ma vhenan."

He returned her smile, but it vanished when Mirianye pulled her away from her love. She brushed off Aelita, as if she were covered in dirt or dust, and when inquired about what she was doing, she explained simply, "Aelita can do so much better."

Aelita's face turned a shade of pink darker than her hair, and Jeremie furrowed his brows, as did his father. Michael stood. "What, are you saying that my son isn't good enough?" He demanded.

Mirianye seemed confused. "Oh, no. I'm sure he's good enough for someone. It's just that Aelita was trained to catch the eye of noblemen, and let's be honest, Michael, your son is hardly noble." Jeremie turned his glare from Mamae Asha to Aelita, who shot him an embarrassed and lopsided grin.

"Mamae Asha, not that I don't love and appreciate you," Aelita began, "but right now I would much rather have sharp rocks in my eyes than have you and Hahren Belpois argue about my love life."

"Love life?" Franz asked with barely concealed parental anger. The arguing groups turned, as no one had heard him enter the room.

Aelita squeaked as her cheeks managed to find a darker shade. Mirianye simply looked between the two adults and the two teens before fixing her attention back on Aelita. "Think sweet thing. A man of noble birth will be able to give you so much more than this boy and all your training is wasted on—"

"Don't." Aelita begged.

"An inexperienced boy like him," She finished.

"Training!?" Franz interjected, not liking what the tone of voice and sneer directed at Jeremie was suggesting about the training to which his sister was referring. "Was there more than just dancing and singing and playing musical instruments involved?"

"Of course." Mirianye, replied unabashedly. Ignoring the look of distress on Aelita's face and the fact that Jeremie's fists were balled so tightly his knuckles were bright white she continued, "all the girls were taught how to perform in bed. Aelita though, her virginity was protected to preserve her value."

Jeremie lunged, stopped only by Aelita screaming his name while at the same time jumping between him and Mamae Asha. Franz looked murderous, though he managed to restrain himself. His sister jumped back and then moved away from Michael upon seeing that even he was furious. "You!" Franz screamed, pointing a shaking a finger at his sister. "How could you?!"

"I did the best I could." She yelled back. "I didn't—couldn't—know that she was family. So I did the only thing I could, I taught her to survive and to use the only skills she'd ever be allowed to have to entice and keep someone who would give her a life that was better than the hell of a slave port or a common sex slave."

Aelita looked up from the floor, seeing the tense standoff between family and feeling guilty. Worse than that, she felt powerless. That defeated tone seemed to cut through the tension as fire might cut though snow. "Stop, please. Franz, Harhen, she did the best she could for me under the circumstances. Mamae Asha, I'm free and that means I get to follow my heart wherever it takes me." She looked to Jeremie, "Ma vhenan, do you trust me?

Jeremie's anger seemed to ease as he looked at Aelita, "Of course."

"Mamae Asha," She paused momentarily, "Mirianye, only wants what she feels will give me the best life. It's not my vision for the future." She paused again to gently shake her head to clear the uncertainty she felt over how deserving she was of a nice future and then continued, "but she means well."

Jeremie nodded stiffly, not quite convinced but willing to trust her. Aelita turned her attention back to her father, "What I experienced could have been far worse." She shuddered at memories best left repressed, "Please trust that your sister protected me as best she could." Finally she turned to Mirianye. "My freedom came at great cost, and not just to myself. Please don't belittle all of that by asking that I become some nobleman's plaything, either because it would make my life easier or because you think I'm wasting all you taught me."

Michael Belpois smiled as he took in the sight of a somewhat broken sounding Aelita defending all sides of the fight. There was more to the former slave girl than anyone, even he himself, had apparently been willing to give her credit for.

 

Yumi, Takeho and Aelita escorted Franz to the Ishiyama residence, and Aelita took her birth father to the Eluvian. He waited out of sight, not wanting to frighten his wife. The Outcast started the connection, and waited. A few moments later, Anthea smiled at her daughter warmly, concern hidden in her eyes. "Aneth era, da'len. You haven't contacted me for many days. I was worried about you."

She looked away nervously. "I had… things to do. Things that I'm still dealing with." She said, not wishing to worry her mother more by speaking of Marsy, nor did she wish to disclose those things to her father yet. "But there is something… someone that I thought you ought to meet."

Anthea tilted her head, confused. Aelita motioned for her father to move closer. "Aneth era, Anthea, ma sa'lath." Franz said, his voice cracking.

Anthea couldn't believe it to be true. At first she thought she was dreaming, but she was Blind and therefore could not. "Waldo?" She whispered.

"As swift stars burn the unbalanced night, a beacon you've become in my dark hour." He recited a poem that Aelita recognized as part of the marriage rite for the elves. "After this the Garden may be taken by blight, yet to us the world will never turn sour."

Anthea covered her mouth, and together they finished the poem. "Forever may be eternity or tomorrow, this I shan't wonder. Together we shall stay, to find the sun through rain and thunder."

Through her tears, Anthea gave instructions to Aelita. Her daughter followed them to the letter, and Anthea took a few steps back. Then, she ran towards the glass, phasing through it to reach her husband. "Oh, ma sa'lath! I thought you were dead!" She cried. "Is this where you've been?"

"I thought you were dead as well. I've been everywhere." He whispered, stroking her hair. "I thought that I'd killed you."

Anthea started sobbing uncontrollably, her knees giving out under her. Franz—Waldo—sank to the ground with her, and he simply held the wife he'd missed. He offered his arm to Aelita, and nervously, she approached him. She stayed at what she felt was a respectable distance until he pulled her in closer. She could hear her mother's muffled sobs of joy, and the shakiness of her father's breath.

At first she couldn't believe it was true—she had a family, a real family. Then happy tears streamed down her face, and she snuggled closer to her parents.


	45. Winter 15

Episode 15: a Game at Dinner

27th of Nubulis

 

It took quite a bit of convincing, but Yumi managed to get the servants to prepare her for the king's dinner party without the aid of a mirror. She would, eventually, be able to look at her kimono in the mirror, though she couldn't risk exposing herself to the servants. They pulled her raven hair up, and they kept it in place with combs. Then they used winterflowers to decorate her hair. Her dress was long and the color of blood, a black border over a white dress under the actual kimono. Her obi was yellow, her weapons tucked within.

As she ran her fingers down the silk, she thought to the party. Laura's father, King Jean, was holding the dinner party so he could get, as the invitation said, better acquainted with the teenagers who had been travelling with his daughter. All of the Heroes had been invited, as had their families. Even Aelita had been invited, and though she showed no interest in it, her parents seemed to think it was a good idea. Yumi couldn't help but think that bringing wild elves to a fancy dinner party would end in trouble.

Nevertheless, she brushed a stray hair from her face and prepared to join her parents.

 

When Jeremie returned from the bathhouse, he found that his father had left, leaving him a note that said something had come up urgently and he would attempt to return before the party started; but if he wasn't Jeremie should leave without him. He smiled and shook his head, and he started to prepare for the party. He felt that he had more important things to do, but one did not refuse an invitation from the King.

When he was finished dressing—pale blue tights, a teal green tunic that started at his knee and continued to his mid-thigh, leather shoes and a dark blue cape—he tore at his hair with a brush. He cleaned the lenses on his spectacles, and he blew his bangs out of his face.

 

It was chaos in the Della-Robbia house as they prepared. Though, to be honest it was almost always chaos in their house; it was small and most of them were loud. His sister Louise shouted outside Odd's door, asking if he'd seen her dancing shoes. He shouted back that he hadn't, thankful that the spring thaw would come soon and he could finally leave this hole. He tied a vest over his white shirt, pulling his leather braces over the sleeves. He pulled on his purple pants, tying an orange scarf around his neck. Kiwi jumped onto the bed, barking. Odd bent over and scratched the pooch behind the ears. "I'll be back soon, my little diggity dog."

 

Ulrich had the servants press his Eastern finery. It was still in wearable condition, though his mother seemed to protest that he was wearing it to a second party. He honestly didn't understand why that was such a fashion catastrophe, but he compromised and wore fancy boots rather than his leather bracers and boots. He also allowed his mother to convince him that he should wear rings on his fingers. Later, he would sneak one of these rings to Aelita, who would give it to a merchant in exchange for freshly baked bread, which she would hand out to poor children. The latter events Ulrich wasn't aware of, not that he would've minded had he known.

 

Laura enjoyed getting ready for parties. She liked having her hair washed and braided, pulled up with strings of gold and pearls woven into the plaits. She enjoyed looking at her dresses, dictating which one she wanted to wear. She chose a dress with tight green sleeves, a heavy brown overdress with bright blue and dark magenta designs. When the servants had finished painting her face, she took her mother's set of pearl earrings and necklace, decorating her ears and neck. She stood and spun, her skirts creating satisfactory rumpling sounds as she did.

She wanted to look her best. Tonight she had very shocking news and it would go over best if she presented herself as knowing what she was doing.

 

Aelita flinched as her Aunt Mirianye brushed her hair. It wasn't like Mamae Asha was trying to hurt her; Aelita simply had thick, messy hair that easily tangled. Most days she couldn't be bothered to do anything with it, spare conjuring spouts of water to make it easier to comb. When Mirianye had finished brushing her hair, she plaited it, using yellow mountain flowers that Aelita had conjured to decorate her hair.

Soon Anthea returned, wearing a beautiful gown the color of snow, under which was a dress that looked like the sunset. Anthea wore a necklace made of shells and her hair had been pulled back with shells and feathers. The Matron handed Aelita and Mirianye their own gowns. Mirianye's dress was lilac, purple roses embroidered on it. Yellow ribbon was sewn on the hem and neckline.

Aelita's dress was pink underneath, though Anthea also provided an overdress that was made of fabric depicting what looked like a lily pond. Then, she pulled on a scarf-like piece of fabric that hung loosely around her neck. "You look beautiful." Anthea sobbed happily. This was the first time she'd seen Aelita dressed up, and she was still getting used to the shock of being physically close to her daughter without Aelita being sick from Mehormanda.

"Why do we have to go to this silly party? I don't like King Jean Gauthier, and I like Laura even less." Aelita whined.

"Oh, hush now. You look cute. Might as well go someplace they'll appreciate it." Mirianye smiled.

"Cute? My daughter looks gorgeous!" Waldo called as he entered the house. He was dressed like a human noble, his finery red and white, though he wore a white cape and his feet were cleverly disguised in soleless sandals. Aelita called 'Papi' as she ran towards him, and he lifted her up. "You're a beautiful young woman, da'len. Just like your mother." She smiled, and he rubbed their noses together. He giggled; Edna would do the same thing, saying it was a very common way for elvhen parents to show affection.

Mirianye smiled. "Yes she is." Straightening her back, she asked, "Well, shall we be going? We wouldn't want to get stuck in traffic, would we?"

 

King Jean was a corpulent man, his lifestyle allowing him to get fat and lazy. His hair had once been dirty blond, and it had begun to recede heavily in his twilight years. He now required spectacles to see properly. He stood behind double doors, waiting for the fanfare to commence. He trusted that Laura had already greeted the guests and that everything was in order. Jean wanted to see who these people his daughter had travelled with were—she'd spoken about them but nothing in great detail.

But of course any party a king threw had to be a large party. Many nobles and other wealthy people had attended. However, he was only interested in the teens his daughter called, 'Heroes.'

Jean was still not convinced that his daughter was a prophesized hero. He had enrolled her in Grimoire Academy many years ago to become efficient with her magic, so it did not compromise her claim to the throne. But in doing so, she seemed to think that she possessed some ability to divine the future and, being a man of facts and action, he didn't care for dreams, or anyone who possessed the mistake of the Dreamers. Jean was Blind and could not dream. He often thought how simple his life would have been had his daughter shared this trait.

This is why he was making plans to correct his earlier mistakes. He was currently searching for eligible noble women, and if he found one he would remarry. Regardless of whether she bore him a son—though that would make the ordeal far easier for the public to understand—if that child had no magic they would become next in line. Jean had told Laura of this only a week prior, and while she seemed none too thrilled with the idea, she understood where he was coming from.

The fanfare started and servants forced open the doors. Jean walked through with a swagger, his belly swaying from side to side. He loudly greeted his guests, who cheered after he'd finished. Then, he sought out his daughter, who had gathered near her friends.

They were not what he'd expected. The leader, or the boy he assumed was the leader, was blond, nearsighted and he didn't quite look like he was suited for battle. The boy with brown hair seemed none too happy to be surrounded by nobility, which Jean found very strange. He recognized Yumi Ishiyama, though she seemed to have changed somehow. Then there was the short boy with spiked hair. There was also a wilder elf, but Jean knew his daughter had been raised better than to believe a Surface elf was equal to a human, and he dismissed any notion that the elf was a 'Hero'.

Laura introduced them, and Jean smiled politely, though Ulrich and Aelita seemed to think it was more smug and insulting than polite. Laura eyed her father angrily, red filling her cheeks. When he left, she explained her situation to her friends. "That's terrible! He can't do that, can he?" Yumi said incredulously.

"I'm afraid he can. He is the king after all." Laura said bitterly.

Aelita twisted her face in confusion. "But you're his firstborn daughter! Why on Mediterra would having a son change your position for the throne?" She asked. The others seemed confused, and Jeremie explained that the elves tended to be more matriarchal than human societies, though surface elves were less strict about it than dark elves. Then he explained gently to her that having a son would make the new prince the heir, even though Laura was older. Sighing, Aelita mumbled, "This is why elves elect our monarchs."

Odd seemed none too pleased with that idea. "How would you keep anything straight if you're never sure who is going to rule next?" He demanded.

Ulrich jumped at the chance to make a joke. "Odd, with you, nothing is straight." The Mercenary laughed loudly, though Odd still seemed unamused. "Oh, man, it's sinful how long it took me to come up with that."

Her friends spoke and laughed, seeming to enjoy the party. Laura smiled, and she looked again to her father.

King Jean was not exactly… a doting father. He'd always been rather distant and it had only gotten worse after her magic had been discovered. Her mother was better though frequently busy. Jean was always talking about how much Laura was like her mother, though memories fade over time. She remembered how stubborn her mother was, and how firm she'd been against many practices common at the time. Her father, though likely he would deny it, was a deeply bigoted man and many of the equality acts probably never would have passed without her mother's pressuring.

Laura realized that she was wearing a deep frown, and shaking off her negative feelings, she forced a smile. She turned and looked outside. The sun was setting now, and soon the servants would bring out food so the feast could begin.

Anthea spotted Odd and ran up to him, waving. "Odd! I wanted to speak with you." She said. "I received word the other day about Talia Dorfelas. It appears that she will stand trial soon, and has been moved to a holding facility outside of the city limits."

"I… that is good news." He said a bit awkwardly, shifting his fingers uncomfortably. "What about…?"

"The baby? Perfectly healthy, so I hear. Although, since you are the victim, it is up to you to decide what becomes of it." Anthea explained. "There are several options at your disposal, even some we wouldn't typically offer. But the baby is mostly human so… anyway, I'm sure you don't want me to ruin your evening. We'll talk later." She waved good-bye, and Odd waved back.

Ulrich tilted his head. "What happened between you and Talia, Odd?"

Aelita raised her hands. "I'm getting out of here before this conversation goes any further." She lifted her skirts so she could walk easier out of the way. Odd rubbed the back of his neck in shame, remembering that the last time Talia Dorfelas came up in a conversation he'd struck her.

Jeremie folded his arms. "It's quite obvious what he's done. He went and slept with her and now she's pregnant. I'm surprised only that he doesn't have a brood."

Yumi seemed excited. "Does this mean you're having puppies?"

"What? Oh, the lycanthropy." He said. "I… there's something I've been meaning to tell you all." Shamefully, he explained what happened. Jeremie immediately apologized, and Yumi hid her face with her fan. "Thankfully, Matron Mother Sarethari seems to have taken it upon herself to see that I get justice done."

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you think you're going to do with the baby?" Laura asked. "Anthea said that it was up to you, didn't she?"

He sighed. "I honestly don't know. I'll probably ask Aelita later about what is usually done in these situations. Elven politics are weird." Forcing a smile, he added, "Not that I would mind upsetting them! I just… want advice." He looked at the feast as the servants paraded it into the hall. "Oh, great, dinner! I'm starving!" He walked away, pleased with himself.

Ulrich shook his head. He went to follow him when someone tugged on his clothes. He turned to see a young girl with sharpish features and strawberry red hair standing below him. "Um, excuse me," She said, her cheeks hot and her eyes filled with tears. "M-my name is M-Amelia and… m-may I have t-this dance?" She asked, holding her head down.

Ulrich looked up to Yumi, who smiled sweetly and nodded. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sissi Delmas, laughing, as if she'd dared the young girl to do it. "Sure. Here, take my hand." He offered, and the girl's eyes lit up.

Elisabeth stared as the pair walked off towards the dance area, her rage making her eyes bulge and her mouth work like a fish that had been taken out of water. Some of the other girls around her laughed and she snapped at them to be quiet before turning to walk away with what dignity she had. The sound of laughter still licked at her back as fire.

 

Aelita walked out to the balcony, looking out over the garden below. Most of it was dead, but with a wave of her hand, it blossomed into a beautifully lush oasis. The smells of a spring that had not yet arrived filled the air. Spring was always her favorite season, when things gave new life after the cold death that was winter. She would be so glad when winter had passed, and not just so she could stow away those boots Jeremie had bought for her.

She heard someone approach, and she smiled, thinking it was Jeremie. "So, what did Odd have to say?" She asked without turning around.

He said nothing, but he did move much closer to her. She realized by his size that this was not, in fact, Jeremie Belpois, and she spun around. She was now face to face with Lowel Tyron. He smiled maliciously, and when she tried to run, he grabbed her arms. Aelita tried to squirm out of his grasp, and then she tried to transform, but he grabbed her neck, squeezing it until it hurt. "It's been a long time, Maya." He hissed. Lowel wove his free hand into her hair, leaning forward to smell it. Aelita cringed in disgust, and again she tried to worm away.

 

Mirianye shuffled uncomfortably, trying her best to discern her brother's face from the crowd. "Ah, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you." She said when she finally found him.

He pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "I'm still angry with you, Mirianye. I hope that this is important." He hissed at his sister.

She rolled her eyes. "Then I suppose you don't want to protect your daughter." She said, and he asked her what she meant. "Well, it's just that I was near the entrance when I heard a man named Lowel Tyron had entered the castle. You know, the man who claimed to be her father for a decade and then molested her in a dream while she was trapped in the Beyond by Mehormanda?"

Waldo dropped the goblet he was holding. "He's here? Why? What is he doing here?" He asked.

Mirianye shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps he wants her back? If that is so, you had best go do something about it. Laws about changelings are very strict and very unfair in Lyoko." She advised. He asked where she was, and she told him that Aelita was out on the balcony. As he ran off, she thought about the laws that dictated changelings, as there were many. They couldn't typically leave the village they were born in, the human parents were free to do with them as they saw fit, they couldn't openly practice magic, and until recently they weren't even allowed to learn how to read. Mirianye tried to think back how many years ago the reading law had changed.

Waldo stormed out onto the balcony. Indeed, a man stood, and he could see the fear in his daughter's eyes. Lowel, as Mirianye called him, was a few inches taller than him, his short blond hair sticking out in triangle-like formations. Actually, he realized suddenly, the more he looked at Lowel's hair, the less it made sense.

Lowel looked up at Waldo, and Aelita took the opportunity to escape from his grip. "Papi!" She called out, hiding behind her birth father. She hid her face with his cape like a small child.

"What are you doing to my daughter?!" Waldo demanded.

"Your daughter?!" Lowel repeated incredulously. "She's not your daughter! By Lyoko law, she's my property! If that isn't what you wanted, you never should have given her up!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Waldo said angrily. The two men started arguing, and lightning gathered around the elf's fists. He pushed Lowel back, aided by the lightning. Lowel stumbled, and he summoned pure magical force around his hands. Aelita's jaw dropped; Lowel had never mentioned he was a mage. Then she got angry with him; how dare he practice magic while telling her that it was evil?!

Nevertheless, Lowel used the force to push Waldo back. The elf lifted Aelita out of the way so she wouldn't be caught in the crossfire during their magic duel. However, before the true magic could begin, a soldier stormed through and forced them apart. When Waldo tried to explain why the two men were fighting, he ordered the elf to be silent or he'd cut off his ears and feed them to the dogs.

The guard turned to Lowel and glared, "The only things I like less than elves are slavers. But we are currently on Lyokian soil so what proof do you have of your claim?" The solider tapped his armored boot impatiently and pointedly ignored the incredulous and terrified looks from Waldo and the younger elf while Lowel looked at his possession.

"Only my word." Lowel said at last. "And his when he gave her up."

Waldo looked straight at the solider, squared his shoulders and kept his hands well away from his face. "I did no such thing."

"But you-"

"Enough!" The guard ordered.

"He shouted it! He-"

Lowel cut himself off when he found the blade of the solider's sword at his throat. "I. Said. Enough." The solider held his sword to the man's throat for a moment longer then, after he was certain Lowel wouldn't speak again, lowered the weapon. "Go back to the party and make no more trouble." Lowel grumbled as he complied and the solider turned to Waldo and Aelita. "I have better things to do with my time then waste it on the paperwork that comes with arresting you and sorting out that man's claims. So go back to whoever was idiotic enough to invite you here and pray nothing further happens."

 

A few hours later, all of the guests had gathered in the dining hall. Laura and Jean sat at the head of the table, and the other Heroes and their families sat nearby them. The feast proceeded fairly normally, Jean asking questions of the teenagers. Yet, oddly, he said nothing of the war and wrote off the elves as a non-threat. This was a very different impression than the one Laura had given them of her father, and judging by the color of her cheeks, she knew it.

Someone stood, and when they looked up, they saw it was Lowel Tyron. "Excuse the interruption, Your Majesty, but I have a matter that is very important." He said, and he glared at Aelita, who shrunk in her seat. "You see, my daughter was switched shortly after her birth with a knife ear, who happens to be sitting right there. She ran away almost seven years ago now, and I demand that she be returned to my possession."

Waldo stood angrily. "Shut your mouth, you puffed shirt son of a halla humper!" He looked at the king. "The girl he speaks of is my daughter. She has rejoined the People and no longer identifies as his."

Jean shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but our laws are clear. The girl belongs to the human."

"Those are foolish laws! He abused her!" Anthea argued as she shot up. "Furthermore, Aelita is a da'len Elvhenan! She doesn't live under Lyoko's laws!"

Now Jean stood. "Anyone who lives in my country abides by my laws, you knife eared bitch!" To stop more arguing, he waved his guards closer. Pushing back his 'thinning' hair, "She rightfully belongs to the human. After all, she's just an elf."

Jeremie took a sharp breath in, glaring at the king. Aelita looked like she was about to cry, and she looked for an open door or window to make an escape. Lowel smiled triumphantly, and he approached the elf girl. Once again, he got uncomfortably close to her, and as she cringed at him, he pressed his lips against her neck.

"Jeremie!" Michael shouted suddenly, and the Wise Man blinked. He'd somehow moved across the dining table, and now held Tyron's shirt in his fist. His elvhen bracer blade was pressed at the man's throat. Jeremie's angered face began to shift into one of shock. He didn't even remember moving, yet he'd sprinted across the table and hadn't let anything stop him. One of the guests seemed particularly angry that he'd put his foot in the potato salad. The guards pointed their halberds at him, as it had been forbidden for anyone to bring weapons into the castle. They ordered that he drop the man and surrender his weapon.

Reluctantly, he dropped the vile human man and scooted back awkwardly to his seat. With all eyes focused on Jeremie, the bloodcurdling scream that came from Laura was a surprise. All eyes immediately shifted to the Fair, who had covered her mouth in fear. A window had been forced open, and a curtain blew in the winter wind. King Jean's neck had been slashed open almost to his spine, and the guilty blade had been stabbed in his eye.

The King was dead.

 

30th of Nubulis

Lyoko needed a leader. They needed someone to guide them as they mourned, and as they fought. Laura had lied about her father. He never intended to send troops. And now, as she prepared for her coronation, she was to lie about his assassination being a total surprise to her. In truth, Laura had hired the assassin herself. Jean planned to depose her. He planned to replace her mother and try for a son. He ignored the dark elves and insisted that the problem would go away on its own—he hadn't even bothered to send soldiers! His insensitivity and neutrality had gone on for many a year, and she'd been plotting it secretly for a long time.

She addressed the public afterwards, Her long blonde hair plaited and pulled up, pearls woven into it. Her mantle was warm and her gloves reached her elbows. "Citizens of Lyoko! My father died before his time. But I am in charge now, and I will carry on his legacy!"

Not long ago, her birth had been an inconvenience. It was a way for those lower than her to cower, which she did not want. Now she saw it as a way to help the poorer citizens, and to change things. But she wanted more. "But my father was a fool and a coward. Under him, our fair country would have burned to the ground at the hands of the drow! I will not let that happen! I will ride with our troops after the spring thaw to recapture our cities and reclaim our land!" She paced back and forth. "And I not only promise victory over our enemies, I promise that we will expand, for my reign marks the end of the monarchy. I am not your Queen, but your archon, your magister. I am Empress Laura Gauthier, and we are now the Lyoko Imperium!"

The crowd cheered, and she smiled her political smile. At age sixteen, Laura was confident that she would be the most effective ruler Lyoko would ever possess.

—WINTER ENDS—


	46. Book 4: Spring

Book 4: Spring

Episode 1: Asunder

5th of Eluviesta

 

The city was in chaos.

Lyoko's legionnaires stormed the city streets, but even these well-trained soldiers were no match for the drow and their constructs. Explosions went off in the distance, so loud that the earth trembled beneath the sound. Buildings crumbled, and he looked to his friends. All six were affected by the falling building, and all but two of them vanished as he began to fall back into the water. One of the remaining Heroes rushed towards him, but their face he could not identify. They swam towards him, but he felt something strike his head. His head felt light, and the water turned red as his vision went dark.

Jeremie woke slowly, and while his head felt heavy, he dismissed the notion that it was a vision. Visions always caused him to wake suddenly, so this, he assumed, was simply a nightmare. He'd been plagued with them a long time ago, after his mother had died, and again shortly after returning from the vampire's den, but he supposed the pressure of the upcoming battle could be negatively affecting his state of mind.

He sat up slowly, noticing again Aelita's disappearance. He wasn't surprised; she was nervous too, and had likely returned to her cabin to speak with her parents. Jeremie stood and dressed quickly in his underarmor, and then looked at the armor Laura had provided for him—a heavy steel cuirass, simple pauldrons, a gorget with Lyoko's symbol as a relief upon it, cuisse to protect his thighs, greaves and finally boots. It took a long time, but Jeremie was able to dress in his armor. He attached his oricalcum sword to his belt, and fixed his shield to his back.

He opened his door and walked down the hall to the ship. They'd taken one of Lyoko's war ships, as opposed to the Skidbladnir. While Captain LeDuc had been kind to them, they did not wish to involve her further. He heard the voices of his friends in a common room, and he pushed the door open.

Yumi had changed from her finery into more sturdy protection. She wore traditional Nihonjin armor, as did Ulrich. They wore iron cuirasses, sabatons, spaulders, faulds, and gauntlets. Ulrich's twin katanas were attached to his back, and Yumi had, as always, hidden her weapons expertly away out of sight. Odd wore leather armor similar to Jeremie's, though he still wore his clawed gauntlets and he'd pulled a purple hood over his head. Under his armor, one could see the purple of his clothes. Aelita dressed in fancy, heavy robes, with green painted leather decorating her legs, arms, hips and her chest. She smiled when she saw him, and moved to stand closer.

"It's a good thing that the winds are in our favor." Ulrich said as he sat down in a chair. "It only took us a few days to reach Capital Lyoko."

"Carthage is closer to Capital Lyoko anyway," Jeremie said as he leaned against the wall. "It would've taken us just a few more days to reach here had the winds not favored us."

"Well, hopefully that doesn't matter." Yumi stretched. "I just hope that we catch them off guard. I'm sure they aren't expecting such a large attack so soon."

Jeremie chuckled. "That's true, I suppose. We need a frontal, expected attack like I need a hole in the head."

Before they could continue, Laura entered. She wore fancy robes, though over them she wore a heavy mithril cuirass and gorget, fancy designs carved and relieved onto the metal. Over the armor, she wore a golden medallion with the owl of Minerva depicted upon it. Her hair was tied up, gold and pearls woven into it, and from her ears, pearls dangled. She carried a long staff, much like the one often depicted in painting of kings, showing their earthly power. Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and reluctantly, Ulrich bowed to her. Empress Laura adjusted her crown nervously, as if she were uncomfortable wearing it. "Well," She announced, motioning with her hand for her friends to rise, "Here we are. The final battle."

Aelita shifted nervously. "I don't know. There is something in the air… this feeling seems to lack… finality." She whispered, so quietly that only Laura could hear. The other mage agreed, but she could not turn the ships around now, or she would look a spineless coward.

"It has been an honor serving with all of you." Yumi said, smiling.

"I'll drink to that!" Odd smiled as well. The whole group was now smiling, but yet there was an uneasy atmosphere; it felt all too similar to the eye of a terrible storm.

Laura looked to the side, her smile fading. From the porthole, the waves were so turbulent that the blue could not be seen. Instead the white-capped waves churned, rocking the boat uneasily from side to side. She'd prayed all morning for Neptune to calm his waves, yet it seems her prayers went unheeded. She fiddled with the golden rings that decorated her fingers, and though she heard her friends calling her name, her mind was too far away to face them. She walked to the porthole, her heeled boots clapping against the wooden floor. The room had fallen silent. As Laura looked out over the ocean, the water turned red. This red was as red as could be, like a rich wine or… or blood. The sky grew dark and stormy but no rain fell, in its place came a hundred arrows, their tips burning. She saw men who had lived through twenty battles each fall in place, and while many survived, the blood of the water pulled at her heart, trying to drag it beneath the waves.

Something sinister began to whisper to her, and she looked at her hands. They were caked in dried blood, and then more began to drip onto them. Laura looked up, and she saw her father hanging upside-down from the ceiling, his intestines bleeding onto her. She wished to run but she could not, and the whispers grew to quiet speaking. She looked back to her hands; they were clean again, but the color of blood had painted her fingernails. The voice urged her to reach for her dagger, so she did. She pressed it to her palm, and after twisting it, her own blood fell out.

"Your Majesty!" A voice behind her shouted, and Laura spun around. Her friends were gone, though it seemed that they might have tried to pull her from her foresight before doing so. Mathieu Ducrocq, one of the knights of Lyoko, had bowed. Laura looked to the dagger and the blood on her hand. She hid the dagger in her belt and healed the small cut she'd created. She bid her new bodyguard to stand, and he did so. "Your Majesty, we approach the docks of Lyoko."

"Thank you, Sir Mathieu. I shall go to the other Heroes and hear the plan of attack." The Fair Empress said, and she walked out of the common room, her back straight and her head held high. Mathieu waited only a few seconds before he followed her.

As Laura shielded her eyes upon reaching the top deck, she noticed how grey the sky had become. She prayed that her vision was wrong, and that the grey skies meant only that rain was to come. Laura looked about and found Jeremie, who had not yet noticed her. Aelita, who stood at his side, had seen her however, though her expression did not change. The Empress looked to Mathieu, who looked to her as well, before she proceeded up the stairs to meet Jeremie.

The plan he proposed was simple: leave as much fighting to the legionnaires as possible, find a way to breach the walls of Maera, and then recapture the city. The Heroes were to divide into three teams of two, and from there they were to take a different section of the city with a small compliment of knights. Unsurprisingly, Jeremie and Aelita had decided to go together as they searched the markets and temples, and after shooting an uneasy glance at the Mercenary, Yumi elected to take Odd with her to the Nihonjin sector. This left Ulrich and Laura to search through the nobles' district and the Royal Palace. Sir Mathieu, sworn to Laura's service and protection, was to go with them, as well as two other knights. The other two groups also took three knights each, though none knew their names.

Laura shot one last look at the sky, and then looked towards the city. In the distance, she could swear that she saw her father. She banished him from her mind. His memory, she decided, would not haunt her.

 

Most of the damage to the city had been done months ago, for it seemed once the city had been taken, the drow had seen no need to destroy it further. Perhaps Xana intended to make a fort of it? In any case, it seemed very simple to navigate the streets, albeit Ulrich occasionally had to help the Empress climb over fallen columns. The legionnaires backed them diligently, their armor and their weapons shimmering ever so slightly from the glow of nearby mushrooms. Laura saw them to be similar to the ones they saw in Halamshiral, though these glowed. The drow must have brought them up from the Underdark.

"So…" Laura said, awkwardly examining the staff in her hands. It was heavier and longer than the magic wands she was used to, but the Royal Armorer had said that it provided better protection. "…this route is… pretty… quiet? Ever since we recaptured the docks and separated from the others, the drow have largely ignored us."

Ulrich huffed. "They won't for much longer now that you've said it." He mumbled. He looked over his shoulder. "We're getting closer to the castle now. Make sure you're ready to fight." Laura seemed uneasy, but eventually she nodded and held her staff closer. Suddenly one of the legionnaires pushed her back, and she could hardly see beyond his mighty shield. Ulrich drew his blades, and the other two legionnaires readied their spears. "I heard it, too. It sounds like constructs. That shouldn't be too difficult for us." The Mercenary said to the others.

He scanned the paths that surrounded them. If dark elves did anything right, it was set up an ambush. The paths near the marketplace, notorious for their twistedness, left him unable to determine where the sound was coming from. He closed his eyes briefly and listened harder, and yet, the sound of metal still seemed to come from all around.

Ulrich's eyes snapped open, and he grabbed the shield arm of the legionnaire protecting Laura. He twisted him into what surely was an uncomfortable position, but it saved all their lives, as the shield protected their flank when the hornet constructs began to fire from above. "Laura, take them out!" He ordered, and she pointed the tip of her staff at them. Fire burst out, incinerating the metal insects.

Yet, he still heard the constructs. He scanned all around him, but he could find nothing. One of the legionnaires turned and shouted for his attention. Six armored crabs stalked toward them from the north. "Ulrich, more are coming!" Laura declared, and he turned to look at her. He followed her finger to see four tarantula-esque constructs marching towards them, though these were machines Ulrich had never seen before. Another group of constructs, snake-like in structure with fleshy legs, slithered closer.

Ulrich started to run, and as he was about to order the others to follow him, he had to freeze. Dark mist washed around his feet, then grew and took the shape of a man. No, he realized a second too late, it took the shape of William. Ulrich barely had enough time to block the dark elf's incoming strike before he had fallen to the ground.

William laughed, almost drunkenly, though his laughter stopped when a burst of flames nearly burned off his ear. He looked up to Laura, who had pointed her staff at him. He frowned, but his drunken smile returned when he saw how she quaked in his presence. William stomped on Ulrich's chest, and the Mercenary shouted in pain. Laura, obviously disturbed, took a step back, while Sir Mathieu took a step forward to protect her.

The fallen Vanguard laughed drunkenly, and he propped his sword on his shoulders as he stalked closer. "Lovely to see you, my lady." He said, his voice husky and strange, as if it came from someplace otherworldly.

William raised his sword, and Sir Mathieu ducked behind his shield, Laura holding desperately to his arm. However, the two never made contact, as Ulrich stepped in the way of the zweïhander's path. The massive sword was stopped by Ulrich's katanas. He shot a quick glance at the knight before he kicked William, as so not to break his swords. Sir Mathieu understood his taciturn way, and he turned to the legionnaires. "Quickly, all of you! We must get Her Majesty the Empress away from here! Go, now!"

Laura seemed shocked. "What? No!" However, her safety took precedence over her orders, and the knight grabbed her and dragged her away. She shot a look at Ulrich, who had now taken sole responsibility in defeating her fallen bodyguard.

Ulrich, after confirming the legionnaires had secured Laura's safety, turned his attention back to William. The dark elf eyed him intimidatingly, but the Mercenary was not daunted. The two charged, their swords clashing in a loud manner. Soon, Ulrich realized that William's actions fell into a predictable pattern, one he was sure he could exploit. Parry, strike, block, parry, dodge, strike… until finally he impacted, slicing at William's arm, tearing through his light armor and causing a lot of blood to gush out. Ulrich, knowing that William was far stronger than him, took this opportunity to run, jumping over fallen columns to maximize his speed. He shot a quick glance over his shoulder, and with horror obvious on his face, he saw that William's darkness was catching up to him.

He cursed, both for his pursuer and for the fact that, in his haste to defeat William, he had forgotten about the constructs, meaning that even if he shook William, fourteen other monsters roamed the city in search of the legionnaires and the Heroes.

Ulrich ducked inside a decrepit building to catch his breath, pulling singed blankets over his head to hide himself. He willed himself to stop breathing as William entered the building to check for him. Cautiously, he covered his mouth as a second mass of darkness appeared, taking the shape of Dhaune. "Have you found Ulrich yet?" She asked.

William made a low sound, almost like growling. "Not yet. I was giving chase, but he has eluded me. I thought I saw him run in here, but perhaps the Fair's illusions are stronger than we anticipated."

Dhaune shifted her weight. It seemed obvious to him that she was putting on more as time went by. Was drow food for the wealthy so delicious, or was the stress of military command physically manifesting? It made no difference. "Perhaps. Circumstances diverted us from their paths for many weeks; I would not be surprised if they spent that time training." She seemed uncomfortable as she asked, "What of Yumi?"

"I have not seen her. It would seem that they split into pairs as they scoured the city. Empress Laura was with Ulrich."

"The Fair has taken the title of Empress?" Dhaune said incredulously. Sadly, she added, "So time has changed us all." She shook her head. "It is of little consequence. I will keep looking, as should you."

William nodded. "Yes, general."

He turned to leave, and Dhaune made a sound as she reached out for him. He turned, stoic. "William… dareth shiral."

He nodded again. "Dareth shiral, Dhaune." She disappeared in a puff of darkness, and William walked away to continue his hunt. Ulrich threw the blankets off him and took deep gasps of air.

He stood, shakily at first, and then regained his balance. He remembered that Yumi and Odd were checking out the Nihonjin sector, then the temples district. He tried to determine where they would be, as he had to warn Yumi that Dhaune was looking for her. Ulrich rushed out of the building, and straight into a knife in the back. The stab, he realized as he fell, was likely nonlethal, but it was poisoned. Yet, strangely, the wound simply made him wish to sleep.

 

All of the legionnaires who had accompanied them had died in a surprise attack. Odd had tried to warn them that it was the perfect place for an ambush, though he could not dissuade them from checking the chest they assumed held enemy plans. As the Heroes ran, Yumi was in front, though the Scout was impressively on her tail. He was athletic when he wanted to be, and as spidery constructs chased them through the streets, it seemed now was as good a time as ever. He shouted something incoherent at her, and she looked at him in confusion. He turned and launched three arrows at a loose gargoyle, toppling the structure and crushing the constructs. He took a deep breath and fetched the arrows from the rubble. "When it comes to fletching, the elves don't mess around." He said. Yumi seemed completely unbothered by the long sprint, and in frustration, the Scout sighed. "Must be nice being undead." He teased as gently as he could.

She humored him with a brief smile. "Less pleasant than you would think." She admitted. She looked around and noticed a strange pile of rubble. As she drew closer, her vampiric nose caught the stench of blood underneath it. She moved the rubble easily, uncovering a small trap door. "We're near the Honda family home. I knew them well, but they never mentioned anything like this."

Odd chuckled, though it seemed borderline humorless. "I don't think many people mention secret passages in casual, polite conversation." Much more in character, he mocked the idea. "Oh, Lady Tremaine, what have you done with your secret passage? It looks marvelous! Why thank you, Lady Anastasia, but I simply added steel to the posts to add extra support in case of a strike on Capital Lyoko! Oh, but they do brighten up the room! What do you think, Lady Alana? I think that some flowers would look fabulous on the side table next to the escape hatch!"

Yumi cleared her throat. "Odd, do you intend to role play all day, or are you going to follow me?"

He blinked, smiled and stood. "Yes, I'm coming." He said.

Yumi held the trapdoor open for Odd as he climbed into the darkness. She then closed it behind her, taking his wrist to guide him through. After about fifteen minutes of walking, she spotted a fire in the distance, and perhaps hastily, she ran towards it. Odd warned her to be cautious, yet something otherworldly drew her to the warmth of the glow. Yes… it was warmth, a feeling it had been too long since she'd last felt.

Yet just as the fire grew close enough for the vampire Colonist to see the embers, Dhaune appeared before her. Angrily, Yumi drew her fans and prepared to fight, but Dhaune cowered in her presence. "Stop! I mean you no harm!" Yumi didn't seem to care, and she moved closer. "Please! You do not want me dead!"

"There is only one person I want dead more!" She hissed.

"Xana wants me to kidnap you!" Dhaune screamed, shielding her face. This caused Yumi to pause, and Odd grabbed her shoulder. Dhaune, taking this opportunity, relaxed and added, "I have information for you, and I will gladly exchange it in return for my life."

Yumi looked to Odd, and then the Scout looked to Dhaune. He drew back his bowstring, preparing to launch an arrow. "Speak quickly." He said.

"Xana seeks for us to separate you all, for when you are apart, you are weaker than when you are together. We seek to bring you to Maera, where she can brainwash you to do her biding." Dhaune explained, "Just like she did to William. His brainwashing proved successful enough to attempt again."

"We were divided when we lost Aelita and weakened when we lost William. We can't afford to lose you, too." Odd said.

"What about the others? Are you targeting them, too?" Yumi asked.

"For the moment, Xana asked only for you and Ulrich, but I think she wants all of you." Dhaune said. Her eyes almost glowed with regret. "Yumi, emma lath, ir abelas."

Angrily, Yumi grabbed the collar of her tunic, peaking ever so slightly out of her leather armor. "Don't you dare call me something like that!" She ordered, shoving Dhaune away.

"I know that I have done you wrong, Yumi, but what I felt for you was real!" She admitted, which shook the Colonist a bit. Odd saw her flinch ever so slightly. "It was you whose feelings were untrue. I cast a spell on you, to make you think that you were in love with me. Sorry is… such an inadequate word!"

"Dhaune, I…" Yumi began.

"If I had thought I would've gotten away with what I was doing, I wouldn't have needed the spell. I wouldn't have done what I did. But I had to. I had to serve Matron Mother Xana, for the glory of the drow." She interrupted. "I thought that the spell would be enough, that you would stand by me. But you were so much stronger than I could have anticipated. All of you are." She pulled her arms in.

There was a silence, and Yumi motioned for Odd to relax. He seemed hesitant to do so, but he agreed. Yumi cautiously approached Dhaune, who rushed into her arms. The former slave was now sobbing uncontrollably, her body quaking with her tears. Dhaune's weight gave out from under her, and Yumi helped her sit. "Shh, it'll be okay," Yumi cooed as she moved her hands from Dhaune's side to her shoulder blades. Suddenly, Yumi moved her hands and grabbed Dhaune's jaw, using all of her strength to snap the dark elf's neck.

But rather than facing a corpse, Yumi faced a puff of darkness, and then blackness as the fire granting light to the passageway flickered out and died. Yumi screamed when arms reached behind her, but her screams grew even more desperate as she felt her body disappear.

Odd was frantic, trying to locate his friend, but when the fire returned, Yumi was gone. He looked around and called out her name repeatedly, but no response came. He realized that he had to report to Jeremie.

 

Jeremie and Aelita felt like they had faced the bulk of the horde. They'd fled from battle at the behest of their legionnaire guards, and now hid among the apartments and market stalls. They were breathing heavily, backs placed up against one another. Jeremie pointed to a nearby building. "That's where I used to live, before… everything."

"Really?" Aelita said, too exhausted to show interest. He nodded. He stood, and he helped Aelita to her feet. They walked towards the building, climbing the stairs until they reached the apartment. Jeremie wasted no time in looking for things that might come in handy, but Aelita simply wandered about, examining her lover's childhood home. Most of it she found disappointingly boring, especially with the sheer number of books written in the common. None of them had pictures. She came across a painting of his family.

This was something she'd found strange until she learned the secret of his family. She realized that their line of work did not pay well, but it seemed that they had Robert Della-Robbia paint portraits for them. Aelita had met Michael, who was a very kind man, and yet she wondered what his mother was like. He barely spoke of her. "Jeremie?" She asked. He mumbled something, so she knew he heard her. She paused for a moment. "…do you want to talk about your mother?"

He stopped digging through the rubble, stood up and looked at her, and she shifted uncomfortably. "She died a long time ago. Sometimes I have trouble remembering what she was like." He walked towards the portrait. "She was helpful, I remember. Always talking about how the past was important to everyone, and how history was doomed to repeat for those who did not learn from it." He saw his mother's face in the portrait as stoic. It gave the incorrect statement that she was stern and serious. "She loved to go on adventures. She used to drag me along with her, when I was little. Really little. She tutored me in a lot of things, especially languages."

Aelita was silent for a moment. "Am… I anything like your mother?" She asked quietly.

"Sometimes," the Wise Man shrugged. "You're a lot more stubborn than she was." The Outcast rolled her eyes. The moment was soiled when a huge explosion shook the building. Jeremie grabbed Aelita's shoulder, and she moved closer to him. "Come on, let's get out of here! We have to hurry!" He ordered, and she nodded.

The lovers raced down the stairs, though Jeremie fell when another explosion shook the building. Aelita helped him up. "Where are these explosions coming from? They aren't magic! I can't sense them!" She shouted.

"What do you mean they aren't magic? What else could it be?" He demanded.

"I don't know!"

He thought for a moment. "Zhonghuo has this stuff… it is called blackpowder. Maybe the drow got their hands on some." Aelita shrugged. She grabbed his hand and raced down the stairs, but he pulled her back in time to keep her from getting crushed by a falling beam. They fell along with the building as it began to collapse. Rubble collapsed from the ceiling, leaving them unable to continue down the stairs. "Dammit! The building is falling apart!" Jeremie pulled Aelita up towards the nearest apartment, forcing the door open with all of his might. He ordered her to conjure vines to act as a rope as the descended from the window.

The Outcast obeyed, and when she finished conjuring the rope, she started her descent. Jeremie quickly followed, and they started to run away from the falling building. Jeremie shot a look back, and he saw the collapsing building to be headed for them. He started running faster, and when he was sure that the building would fall on top of them, he pushed Aelita out of the way.

 

Odd rushed towards the bit of pink he noticed in the rubble. The battle was over, and night had fallen. Lyoko had succeeded in recapturing the capital, but at what cost? He had found Laura at the castle, though Ulrich was not with her. She admitted that she didn't know where he was. "Aelita? Aelita, wake up." He urged.

Aelita held her head in her hands. She moaned. "Odd?" She muttered. Her eyes opened widely, and she stood. "You're alright! What happened?"

"We won?" He shrugged with a smile. "Where is Jeremie? Is he not with you?"

Aelita turned, thinking that he would be nearby. He was not. She saw the pile of rubble where the building had once stood, and she ran towards it, ignoring the pain in her legs and back. "Jeremie? Jeremie! Answer me!" She called out, moving the broken cement bricks with strength she didn't know she had. As tears filled her eyes and pain filled her heart, she used her blood magic to try to find him. In her vision, she followed a red mist, and she focused her strength on the spot which it had indicated.

At first, it seemed only that the bricks had knocked him unconscious. This caused a relieved smile to spread across her face, and she spun him around to hold him. Yet, his body felt very light and limp. She opened her eyes, and she realized that a sharp brick had severed his left arm from his body. She shook as she pulled him back.

His head fell back lazily, and she placed him gently on the ground. She examined his body, but other than his missing arm, he seemed to have no other wounds. Had he bled out? No, she realized as she held his head, that wasn't what killed him. She moved her left hand to find thick, cold blood on her fingers. Gently, Aelita turned his head, discovering a hole in his skull. "No! No! Please! This can't be happening!" She pressed her head against his chest. "Oh, Creator! Please let this be a bad dream!"

Odd suddenly pushed her down, and when she turned to confront him, she saw why he'd done so—a massive frost dragon approached them. It landed in the rubble, and light filled the streets, revealing Hahren Edna. "Aelita, da'len! Are you hurt?" She called out.

"Edna!" Aelita gasped. "What are you doing here? How did you turn into a dragon?"

"Does it matter?" She asked. "I was flying overhead when I saw smoke. I saw Lyoko ships, and I assumed this was from the battle."

Aelita shook her head. "You're right; it isn't important. But I need your help." She waved her closer. "Please, Hahren, he's dead. We have to do something!"

"You have said it yourself; he is dead. I can do nothing for him." Edna argued. "Unless… you intend to use blood magic?" She asked.

The Outcast crinkled her nose in frustration. "I have to do this! He saved me and… and I love him! Please, I know you don't approve but I must save him!"

Edna looked to the corpse she held, and then to the Scout. Odd had relaxed, though he still seemed diligent. "Very well, da'len. I invoke vir sulevanan. I will aid you in your quest for his… resurrection, and in return, you will grant to me Samahlin, the staff you carry."

Aelita did not hesitate. "We have a deal."

Edna wore a strange expression. She seemed… almost disappointed. "Come with me, then, if it pleases you."

Aelita nodded, and she lifted Jeremie from the ground. "Odd, I need your help." She said, and he helped her carry the Wise Man's corpse. They walked closer to Edna, and she summoned a white light. With a flash, they had vanished.


	47. Spring 2

Episode 2: Corruption

5th of Eluviesta

Yumi struggled against her silver chains. She had never thought that silver of all things would keep her bound. Silver, she hissed in her mind, was to keep weaker beings bound. She caught herself thinking those words and shuddered, pushing them out of her mind. Still she struggled, and yet the more she twisted and turned the tighter her bindings became.

Although the battle before her capture, exposure to silver and her struggles hadn't left her too tired, her bindings were too tight to allow her to attack and free herself when a drow underling carefully entered her cell. He struggled with his two burdens as he made his way through the large iron door, a bag and a large, flat piece of white hot iron in his hands. She sneered defiantly, the effect losing some of its intimidation factor because her eyes followed the glowing piece of metal as the drow set down his bag and hefted the iron towards her.

It took everything she had not to scream out in agony when the drow pressed the metal to her face. Flesh sizzled and boiled, the blinding pain receding slightly only when the drow pulled away the iron. Too quickly for her to recover he pressed the metal to another area of the colonist's face watching her body twitch and shudder as she tried to contain her agony. Again he removed the iron, only to reapply it somewhere else. The fifth application of the searing pain was too much for her control and she screamed.

The drow pulled back at the sound, emitted at a higher pitch than a normal human due to her vampiric nature. It was enough of a break from the torture to allow her to focus her mind and she realized that she wasn't as defenseless as it seemed. Elves had sensitive ears, she suddenly recalled, and drow more so than surface elves. She screamed again, intentionally this time, making such a high pitched noise that the drow dropped his iron and ran for the door, retreating as quickly as he was able.

Yumi, stunned, looked to the bag. She manipulated her position so she could investigate the contents of the bag. A few silver coins, a book called 'the Underforge' which the Colonist did not even want to begin contemplating the plot of, and a few painted stones were among the contents. It wasn't as if she had been expecting to find a key, but still Yumi was disappointed by this bag of mundane objects.

The door opened again, and she prepared her scream for the underling. Instead, Dhaune entered. She seemed almost tired, and she was obviously pained to see her former lover in such a state. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that this wasn't my idea. Kidnapping William was, but not you or Ulrich."

"Ulrich? Is he here? Where are you keeping him?!" Yumi demanded.

"I misspoke. Ulrich is not here. I was tasked with finding you. William was to find Ulrich. He did not succeed," Dhaune said. "Emma lath, the things we did to William to make him submit... Those are things no one should have to endure. Join us of your own volition, please. I don't want to see you hurt anymore."

Yumi hissed. "I am far past believing such petty lies and you know it. You have done nothing but hurt me."

"And you have done nothing but hurt yourself!" Dhaune shouted. "Yes, I know that I did you wrong. But I love you, and I always have! Deep down, you love me still. Don't you?" The general got on her knees and held Yumi's face in her hands, careful not to touch the wounds. How had she endured such agony without shedding a single tear? Her hands chilled, and while at first Yumi seemed calm, her eyes suddenly filled with fire, and the skin on her face cracked when her expression became feral. Dhaune shot back, and she nearly knocked over the foot servant that had escorted her. The Colonist looked up in time to lay eyes on Hiroki Ishiyama, her long lost little brother. "By the Destruction Mother. Yumi, you're... You're a vampire!" She cursed herself for not seeing it sooner.

Hiroki's eyes widened and Dhaune looked up at him. Cruelly, she smirked. "You always said she would come for you, da'len. Here she is. Go to her." She stood and pushed the young Nihonjin boy into the cell. He dropped the books and scrolls he carried and turned in a vain attempt to secure his escape as Dhaune slammed the iron door. Slowly, Hiroki turned to look at his sister, whose face had relaxed. There was a long silence.

Yumi finally opened with a joke. "Don't tell Mom and Dad."

Hiroki wasn't really in the mood. "What, that you had an elven lover or that you're a vampire?"

She winced. "Both." Hiroki hid a smile, but it faded. Yumi motioned for him to come closer, but he seemed reluctant to trust a vampire. "I'm so sorry, little brother. I should have come sooner. No one on the surface knows how to enter Maera."

He folded his arms. "Understandably. Only a few elves in Maera know how the gates operate. It has something to do with blood magic. As if you needed another excuse to hate them."

Yumi bit her tongue. Now was not really the time to discuss political correctness. "I'm just so glad to see that you're... well, alright isn't exactly how I'd put it." She felt something clawing inside of her. It felt like... hunger.

Hiroki let his arms fall. "You have no idea what it was like to be down here for all this time!" He cried out. He admitted that Dhaune likely kept him out of the worst of it, but he was still subject to her. She teased, ridiculed and beat him. "I was all alone," he finished.

Yumi shifted. "That's all in the past now. I'm here, and you won't be alone ever again!" She said confidently. "I'm going to get us out of here, if it's the last thing that I do."

Hiroki suddenly started to cry. "What makes you so sure?!" He demanded. He rushed to his sister, wrapping his arms around her. "I waited... and waited for you... but... while I waited… she... grew stronger and... stronger!" He sobbed. "I... am so... afraid that they're... going... to... kill us!"

He was so close. Closer than he'd ever been. She pulled him even closer. "Do not worry little brother." She cooed. "They cannot kill what is already dead."

Hiroki was confused. "...What?" He asked. Before he could pull away, Yumi attacked his neck, sinking her vampiric teeth deep into his veins. His line of sight became blurry and his breathing grew shallow. He slowly lost consciousness, and Yumi gently placed him on the floor. Empowered by his blood, and impatient for his turning to be completed, Yumi pulled the silver chains out of the walls. She ran icy fingers across the place the iron had struck. There was no wound.

 

Laura looked out over the skyline from her new quarters. She had survived the battle, but so far, she only knew of one other Hero who had shared her good fortune. What of the others?

She looked quickly over her shoulder, as if she had caught someone staring at her. She saw only the servant. "You may go." She dismissed quickly.

"But, Your Highness, I am not finished with your bedtime preparations!" The servant argued.

"I can finish them myself! Leave!" She ordered. The servant curtsied and scurried out of the room. Laura shakily removed her battle robes and replaced them with light, airy sleepwear. She then let the braids out of her hair, her hands shaking as they ran through her fair locks. Laura grabbed the dagger from the bottom drawer of the vanity.

She remembered her interrupted experiment on the ship and considered it again now. She even rationalized it. A new stronger Lyoko demanded a new stronger leader, no? Twisting the blade in her hands, she considered the deed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the Lyokian doors that led out to the balcony. She slammed the dagger down and turned in shock. Christophe M'Bala waved at her. Hiding a smile, she opened the doors for him. "Am I to assume that the guards wouldn't let you in?"

He laughed. "I'm sure that they would have, but I figured that this was too important to risk being turned away." He closed the doors for the Empress. "Captain LeDuc has Ulrich. He is recovering and should be fine by morning.

Laura let out a sigh of relief. "That's wonderful news!" She said. "But why does Captain LeDuc have him?"

Christophe shrugged. "She's taken a liking to him. Had Heïdi bring him back to the ship." He frowned when he saw the look of expectation on her face. "I'm afraid I don't have news other than that, however. The others are not with us."

She blinked. "Of course. I had hoped... Never you mind. Thank you for informing me." Nervously, she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "If you want, I could ask the servants to prepare you a room? I-I don't know how long your walk back to the ship is." She was kicking herself in her mind. She sounded as awkward as she felt. How could she rule a country if she couldn't talk to a boy that she liked?

He blushed and held his cheek. "I... appreciate the offer, Your Majesty, but I promised Emily that I would return as soon as I was able." He could see her heart sink. He smiled and added, "...you know what? I've changed my mind. I think I will stay."

Laura smiled, but she was obviously flustered. "Didn't you just say that she wanted you to report back soon?"

"I'll apologize to her in the morning." He shrugged. Laura giggled and called a servant to prepare a room. This servant, a young elf of roughly thirteen, flushed at the sight of Christophe, and her face turned red as she looked back to the Empress. "I'll take it that they aren't used to seeing Southerners around here." He said flatly.

She laughed. "I think it's more of the fact that you're in my bedchamber." She said. With sarcasm dripping from her voice she added, "An unmarried woman of status with a dashing rogue in her bedchamber? My, what will the nobility say?"

They laughed together, and they spoke for a long time. Too soon, however, did the servant return and take Christophe away. Laura was alone once more, and as she it had for many days, her solitude led to dark thoughts. Grabbing the dagger to twist in her palm was second nature at this point, as if it had been part of her life forever and not a few days. The blood filled her palm, and for the first time, she was not interrupted. The blood in her hand was warm, and it created songs in her mind. This warmth... this raw untapped power…

It frightened her, and she banished the thoughts from her mind. She watched her reflection, her nervous hazel eyes twitching and filling with fearful tears, her lips quivering as she bit them to calm herself, the shakiness of her arms... Laura threw her battle robes over the mirror and blew out the candles. She then buried herself under her blankets and whimpered until she was too tired to remain awake.

 

Aelita held onto Jeremie as Edna began preparing the ritual chamber. The Outcast had cursed herself repeatedly for forgetting his other arm, and though her Hahren had decreed it would be a detail that could not be addressed at the moment she could not banish her worry over it. Aelita turned when she felt a tap at her shoulder.

An elven girl from the Uncharted South stood behind her, and Aelita noted she was roughly Milly's age. Her black hair was in dreadlocks, and they were pulled back. "Hahren Edna asked me to give this to you." This girl, whom Edna had called Tamiya, handed her a thick, scary-looking book. The older elf's heart sank when the book did not sing, meaning it was written in the common. Aelita shot a glance at Edna before Tamiya added, "I marked the ritual for you. Be careful, lethallan. No path is darker than when your eyes are shut," She warned.

Aelita blinked before opening to the marked page. Her eyes filled with tears, though she wiped them away as she shot one last glance at Jeremie before leaving the ritual chamber. Odd sat outside, his fingers locked and pressed against his lips. He saw her and stood. "What's wrong?" He asked, "Other than the obvious."

She started to shake, as if the strength in her legs had failed her and she was about to collapse. She hung her head and suppressed tears. She took great interest in her toes, and she shoved the open book at him. "C...can you read this for me?"

"What, too chicken to read it yourself?" Odd teased, but she didn't laugh. Instead she started crying, not as if she was mourning like she had when Jeremie had died or when she was betrayed, but as if she was ashamed. As if her pride had been broken.

In that moment, it all made sense. No one had even seen Aelita read unless it was in the elven language, which spoke to her. Everything she knew she had either experienced or had been taught orally. And they'd all seen Lowel Tyron. He was old fashioned--he likely still abided by the old laws that kept changelings down. Aelita was asking him to read for her because she did not know how to do it herself, and it had taken a lot to do it.

Gently, Odd took the book from her, apologizing for his rude comment. He looked at the ritual outlined there and made a face. This ritual required the heart of a deer, the lungs of a bear and many other macabre ingredients. But that was not the part that bothered him.

This necromantic ritual required sacrifices. Virgin sacrifices. He remembered joking with Aelita about the concept of a virgin sacrifice, and yet, here it was in... dark red and... what was that color, anyway? Pale beige? Stained ivory? It didn't matter. "Aelita, it says we need virgins to sacrifice."

She sighed, wiping away her tears. "Then virgins we will find."

"We can't sacrifice innocent people! Jeremie wouldn't want that!" Odd protested.

"Who said anything about innocents?" Aelita countered. "There are plenty of slaver camps in this area. Some of them specialize in... well, in slaves like they wanted me to be. In those camps, they wouldn't dare damage their 'property' physically. A broken spirit, a girl scared mute? No one minds. Too many scars from lashings, or... or other things..." She rubbed her arms. "That damages the value."

"I don't follow."

"I'm sure we can find virgin slavers in those kinds of camps. Those slavers are more in it for money and mind games than sex." She looked away. Odd wasn't convinced, but he figured she knew more about it than he did, and felt it would be inappropriate to challenge her.

He looked back to the book. "I'll look for the virgins, okay? You find a deer heart, a pair of bear lungs, the wings of a vampire bat, an orc's tusk, the finger of a goblin and... what in Tartarus does this say? ...And the lock made of hair of...? Oh. And a lock of Jeremie's hair."

Strangely, she seemed fine. "I can find most of those in the wight market. You just hurry, okay?" She dug through the bag on her shoulder and handed him a piece of parchment set in stone, a figure of the Creation Father drawn on it. "This will allow you to enter the city once you have them." She murmured that it would've been nice to know that an entry pass to get in, as she would've salvaged the one from Edna's aravel.

As Aelita scurried towards the markets, Odd tried his best to navigate to the front gates. When he reached them, the guards looked rather annoyed that a halfling had wandered into their city, but they saw the pass, and they were obligated to let him in and out.

The forests around Arlathan were dense. Odd used the wolf to listen to the world around him. He heard many of the birds and other animals, but he couldn't hear any human voices. He twisted his face in contemplation as he looked to his feet. "I suppose it couldn't hurt…" The Scout muttered as he unlaced his boots and pulled them off. He wasn't sure that the Creator's Sight was present in a halfling, but he'd try anything once.

He was pleasantly surprised when it worked, though this sight seemed muddled and altogether unclear. He was able to make out a camp of people, and some of the figures were clearer than others. He assumed that these people were elves, and that they were barefoot. This, he decided, was as good a lead as any, so he threw his boots into the backpack and ran towards the figures.

He was paying far too much attention to where the figures were as opposed to what was in front of him, so he crashed into a tree. As he recoiled and regained his bearings, he came to the conclusion that, while he had some form of the Creator's Sight, the trees would not get out of his way as they would for the wilders.

He continued his journey, occasionally stopping to make sure he wasn't getting off-track. Eventually Odd found himself near to the camp, and he ducked behind some bushes and waited. There were eight humans--seven men and one woman--in leather and iron, all carrying weapons. Some even carried spears adept for throwing. They certainly looked like slavers, but Odd had no other reason to suspect them of slavery until an elven woman walked up to one. Odd could see that they were arguing, but then the armored man she'd spoken to slapped her and revealed a whip.

Odd, talented as he was, knew a frontal assault would be suicide. He looked around to spot a high place relatively well hidden, but he jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. He spun around to see Aelita crouching behind him. "You scared me half to death!" He hissed, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be gathering ingredients!"

"I bought them all! Edna is preparing them now." She whispered. "I figured I might help you. I've got a sled so we can drag the slavers back to the city." Sure enough, there was a sled behind her, and she reassured him that she could get it back to Arlathan.

"No point in arguing." He muttered.

"Is this a slaver camp?" Aelita asked as she, too, hid in the bush.

Nodding, he said, "Looks that way." He waved her in closer. "You create a distraction while I go hide in that tree. I'll signal you when I'm ready."

She nodded, and she didn't wait to hear what the signal was. Odd shrugged and snuck over to a nearby tree.

Aelita marched into the camp, realizing a half second too late that she didn't have a plan. She was spotted by the slavers, and while she was terrified and reliving past agony, she knew that she could not turn away. The slaver leader, a woman with a shaved head and a scar over her eye, seemed maliciously excited to see the Outcast. "Well, well, boys. A volunteer!" She cracked her knuckles. "Clap 'er in irons and see what the brothel will pay for 'er."

Her knees quaking in fear, Aelita took a deep breath and summoned Samahlin--thankfully, Edna had agreed not to take it before Jeremie regained consciousness. She unconsciously took a timid step back, and her stance was weak. Her mouth was dry, but she mustered what was left of her courage and said, "I have to warn you, I am stronger than I look."

The head slaver laughed, but she stopped when she heard a wolf howl. "I thought you said you'd fought off all of the animals." She said to one of them, who defended himself from the small stone she threw at him. Suddenly, the head slaver was pounced upon by a feral-looking Odd. He hit her until she fell unconscious while Aelita fought off the others. Mostly she tried to cause non-lethal injuries on the slavers to incapacitate them, though the Outcast noted that a stone she threw at one of them that crushed his face and likely killed him instantly.

Overall, the fight was unexciting and anti-climactic. These slavers had plenty of bark, but their bite was limited. Odd shook the wolf spirit out as best he could before patting Aelita's shoulder. "Good idea, acting helpless. They didn't even see me coming." He complimented, and she grinned in an unspecific way. "I'll check the slavers. You go help the slaves."

She nodded, shrinking Samahlin and approaching the slaves, who had cowered near the supply crates. She offered her hand to them, and one of the oldest girls, about fourteen, took her hand. The Outcast helped her to her feet, and the other girls followed her lead. "Who sent you? Why did you come here?" The girl asked.

Aelita opened her mouth to explain, but she thought better of it. "That's not important. Are you hurt?"

The slave girl looked at the others. "No more than usual."

Odd approached. "How many of these do you want to take back with us?" He asked.

"I don't know exactly. Two or three, just to be safe." Aelita said before a glimmer of gold in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She quieted one of the whimpering girls before she cautiously walked towards this strange bit of gold. It came from inside of a crate, one of the boards having cracked. She pulled it open and revealed a box of glass vials holding a glowing liquid almost like liquid gold, but when she touched it; it was cold, as if it was sucking the heat from her body. On one of the boards was a word painted in bright red letters. "Odd, what does this say?" She called out reluctantly.

Tearing himself away from the ropes he was tying, the Scout walked over to where her voice had come from. He, too, was confused by this strange liquid, but he read the board. "It says 'amber'."

"It doesn't look like any kind of amber I've ever seen." She said. She picked up the crate and carried it to the sled. "I'll have Edna look at it when we get back."

Odd, almost afraid of this liquid, was in no position to disagree. "So, do you have everything you need?" She nodded, and he looked to the slavers that were unnecessary. "What do you want to do with them?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"You're the ex-slave here."

She shot him a lopsided grin. "Technically, so are you."

"My experience pales in comparison to yours."

Aelita examined the four slavers that Odd had tied up. She spotted a mace one of them had dropped and picked it up. She carried it to the slave girl who had trusted the duo first. The young girl backed away from it, her brown eyes filled with apprehension. "What are you doing?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"I am asking you to do as I did when I was in your shoes." She pushed the mace closer to her. "You see this weapon. Take it."

"B-but I don't know how to fight!"

"You don't have to. This is a matter of revenge, not war."

The girl was still frightened, but it didn't seem to be directed at Aelita. She reached out and grabbed the mace timidly, and she struggled under its weight when the Outcast removed her hands. Aelita summoned a spectral deer and attached it to the sled.

The newly freed slaves watched the duo as they rode away. One of the slavers ordered them to release him. The girl looked at him, and in that moment, she mustered all of her strength to bring the mace onto his skull, shattering it and splattering her with his blood. There was a silence afterward, and the other slaves screamed viciously as they grabbed weapons and sent their tormentors down to their deaths.

 

 

The closer it came to the event of Jeremie's resurrection, the less sure Odd became of Aelita's actions. He knew why she was doing it, and he knew that nothing would dissuade her. Yet as he looked at the slavers he could not help but pity them. Evil as they were, they were still locked in cages and afraid for their lives. Part of him thought they deserved no less, while the other part of him thought it would be better to kill them. He didn't know if these were his own feelings or the wolf's influence. If it was the wolf, he had no way of knowing which part was which.

Aelita meticulously stirred the vile-smelling slop in her cauldron as Edna watched. Tamiya had finished prepping Jeremie's corpse and was using her magic to allow the starlight in. Edna murmured that a new moon as opposed to a full moon would increase their chances of successful resurrection, but Odd couldn't help but think that it was silly superstition. "Da'len, are you sure you know how the ritual will proceed?"

"I'm positive," The Outcast said, adding under her breath, "You've only explained it to me five times."

Edna continued preparations, conjuring runes and muttering incantations. Suddenly there was an explosion of black smoke from the cauldron, knocking Aelita back and frightening the others. "I thought you said we had more time!" Tamiya shouted.

"Not the time!" Edna shouted back. "Don't be afraid, Aelita!" She urged as she forced Odd and Tamiya out, slamming the door.

Aelita was then alone as the concoction transformed into smoke, swirling towards the starlight. She rapidly cut herself, the scent of her blood drawing the smoke back. The smoke followed her as she danced, luring it into runes. The runes activated, trapping the unholy mist in its clutches.

Using the combined energies of the mists and the spirit Hunger, Aelita sundered the Veil. It created a deafening noise and knocked her off of her feet again, and the vortex of ethereal energy pushed against her. She forced herself up and dragged her body back to the altar where the ritual began before trapping her feet in earth to secure her footing. She looked at the slaver leader and grabbed hold of her blood.

The slaver screamed as Aelita's magic clawed at her. The Outcast pulled the blood closer, forcing the slaver against the iron bars. When she could come no closer, the blood ripped out of her skin. She gave out a deafening scream, almost louder than the sundered Veil. With her blood in her control, Aelita offered it to the tear, and despite the screams and thunderous sound of the torn Veil, she commanded, "Bring me his soul!"

The tear absorbed the blood and mist, and in return, a bright light was given off. But as it grew closer to the corpse of the Wise Man, it grew to be tainted, impurity soaking into him. Panicking, Aelita grabbed the blood of one of the other slavers and ripped it from him, offering it, too, to the tear. Instead of asking for a soul, she asked for a spirit to remove the taint.

The thunderous sounds clapped once more, and then it stopped. The tear was still present, but the darkness reaching for Jeremie slowed almost to a stop, and a crystal clear blue light swirled around it. The darkness and the swirling light reached Jeremie at the same time, and then there was nothing. It had ended as suddenly as it began. The tear closed itself by absorbing the final slaver's soul, leaving behind a desiccated corpse. Aelita released the earthen trap on her feet, and she ran to Jeremie's side.

At first she saw nothing, no change in him that showed whether or not he was alive. Devastated, she started to cry, and she felt her arm and her face burn. She looked to the vallaslin on her arm. Starting at her wrist, it had begun to glow an ominous-looking red. She was afraid of what it meant, but her terror was soon redirected as Jeremie's eyes snapped open. He started to cough, and the wound where his arm was gone begun to bleed profusely.

Quickly, Aelita placed her hand on his forehead and lulled him to sleep. As he slept, she tried to hold back his blood, but she'd used so much of her magic that it became increasingly difficult even to stay awake. Her nose started to bleed. Looking towards the great mahogany doors, she shouted, "Help! Help!"

The doors opened, and Edna rushed in, followed soon by Tamiya. Edna looked from her former apprentice to the now-living corpse, and she pulled Aelita away. "Tamiya, take her to the infirmary!"

"Ma nuvenin, hahren," Tamiya said as she led Aelita away. She fought against her, shouting for Edna to let her stay, but she was weak, and Tamiya was stronger than she looked. Edna summoned a crystal, and then a small amount of electricity. The electricity carved runes into the crystal, and the leader of the Aloten clan held it near the wound. The blood bonded to the crystal, and with a wave of her hand, roots began to grow and take form as an arm. She waited until the fingers had formed to use healing magic to finish the bond.

Having no choice but to wait, Edna closed the doors and meditated as she waited for the Wise Man to wake.


	48. Spring 3

Episode 3: Awakening  
6th of Eluviesta

When his eyes finally opened, he wasn't in control of his body. His motions were not his own, but they were more precise, more controlled. Everything in his wider range of vision seemed faintly blue, but soon his eyes fell on a mass of energy that faded from bright red to snowy white. He pinned this energy to the wall.

He could hear his voice in his words, but it was muted, passive to the dominant, powerful voice that had taken over everything about him. "Elf. Female. Roughly thirty years of age. Vallaslin meaning 'inevitability.' Scent of magic." Slowly, his vision grew more narrow, and the lights started to fade. "This one recognizes your features." When Jeremie was finally in control, he said without any corruption obvious in his voice, "Edna?"

Edna visibly relaxed when Jeremie released her. She slid down the wall, pulling her knees up as she processed the events. "By the blood of the Creation Father! You scared me half to death!" She cried out. "What in the world did you do?"

Jeremie seemed as confused as the elven Hahren. "I don't know. I'm not even sure where we are." He looked at the dark room. The trees formed warm, sturdy walls, and the branches left a hole in the roof where the sun could shine. The leaves, and much of the walls, had been charred, and there were desiccated corpses in cages. The altar in the center of the room was covered in dry blood. "Where is Capital Lyoko? What happened during the battle?"

Edna didn't seem surprised. "You took quite a hard blow, didn't you? Your skull will be soft for some time." She said, picking up a bucket of water. She dunked a rag into the water. "Here, wash away that blood."

Jeremie took the rag and rubbed his face. His arm felt strange, but so did everything else. It was like his body was stiff after a long sleep. "Was I knocked out?" He asked.

"No, you died." Edna said bluntly.

He froze, dropping the rag. He had died? He didn't remember that. Jeremie tried to look at the elf, instead locking onto his new arm. It was made of roots and branches, a faint light flashing from inside. He tore at it until he found the crystal. His blood had formed veins and was using the crystal as a sort of catalyst. It was a brilliant idea, but still... "I... died? I'm dead?"

Edna shook her head. "No. Aelita resurrected you." She explained. "It required blood sacrifices and a spirit to cleanse the corruption of your soul, but you live." She began to pace. "I suppose that angry glowing thing you were doing was the spirit. Do you know what kind of spirit it is?"

Still in shock, Jeremie tried to calm himself. He could feel the blood in his body, flowing like a river. In that rushing life, he heard, or perhaps felt, a single virtue. "Vigilance." He murmured.

"Fitting." She said flatly. "How do you feel about this?"

"I don't know. I'm alive. Is that not enough?" He shrugged. It would take time to get used to his new condition, but life was definitely better than death, and his new arm gave him a way to study the elves' magic, and perhaps tinker to give it his own spin. Besides, he thought optimistically, a spirit may prove to be a valuable ally.

Edna wasn't impressed. "You would think that you would be angry. Or at least in pain." She folded her arms and leaned against the wall casually. "I studied your corpse before the resurrection. You were killed when rubble crushed your skull." He visibly flinched. Perhaps that was not the best way to segway into a new topic. "How fares your memory?"

"Fine, as far as I can tell. I remember the siege on Capital Lyoko, and I remember… pushing Aelita out of the way as the building fell. Before that… we were talking about my mother." He rubbed his head. His skull was still a little soft from the force of the impact. He was probably lucky that it hadn't flattened his head. "It's strange… I feel like… when I was in the stillness of death I heard my mother calling out my name… I remember being dragged and hidden. I remember her voice, telling me that it wasn't my time…" He laughed half-heartedly, and when he looked up at the elven woman, she could've sworn there were tears in his eyes. "That must sound pretty stupid."

"It doesn't sound stupid at all," She admitted quietly before shaking her head and continuing. "Anyway, you should go find your friends. Odd went to the library. He said that he had to check out some children's books for some reason? He didn't delve far into it. Aelita was taken to the infirmary after the ritual. I stayed to watch over you, so I have no idea if she's still there." She handed him a map, pointed out their current location and sent him rather hastily on his way.

\---

Hiroki woke feeling as cold as ice, though his veins felt like they had just been burned. He sat up, and looked into his sister's eyes. She smiled at him, and she hugged him. "Yumi?" He asked, licking his teeth, feeling something foreign in his mouth. "What did you do to me?"  
She smiled wider, revealing her vampiric fangs. "You're like me now," she said, "We're more powerful now than ever."

"You're crazy! You actually want to be a vampire?" He exclaimed.

"I didn't at first, because I felt so alone and wrong but…" She looked to her hands. Her nails had grown sharper, and her fangs were longer. They slightly poked out from her lips now, unless she focused on keeping them hidden. She could also sense that her telepathy was stronger, and that she could sense Hiroki in her blood. Becoming a forbearer must have made her a stronger vampire. She suppressed the urge to create a brood. "With this power at my disposal…" She looked back at her brother and exclaimed, "I think I can break Xana's hold on William!"

Hiroki was quiet for a long time. "You really are crazy, aren't you?"  
She crinkled her nose at him and stood, helping him to his feet before turning her attention to the door.

Hiroki too turned towards the door then looked doubtfully back to his sister, "Uh... how strong are you... we?"

In answer she placed her fingers at the sides of her temple and closed her eyes. With a single thought, the door flew off its hinges, crushing the guard on the other side. She opened her eyes and offered her hand to her brother, with a small but dangerous smile. He took it nervously, and they ran out of the dungeon.

\---

Ulrich opened his eyes slowly. He was blinded by a bright light, so he squinted and mumbled something incoherent. He sluggishly forced himself to sit up, which required a lot more self-motivation than it should have. When he finally managed to open his eyes fully, he saw Captain LeDuc staring at him from the end of his bed. She smiled at him, and pulled her hair over her shoulder so she could stroke it nervously. "Hey," she said, "you're finally awake."

He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the light. "Where am I? Is this your ship? How did I get here?" He asked as he noticed the bandages covering his shoulders. The Mercenary remembered being stabbed, and falling asleep.

"Heïdi brought you back here." Emily said, "I ordered my crew to aid in the attack." She stood and turned away from him. "The day was won, but unfortunately you were the only one that they found. One of my men set up a blackpowder bomb in a poorer part of town, and I fear that some of your friends may have been caught under it."

Ulrich started breathing heavily, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "My… my friends are…"

"We don't know that they're dead yet!" Emily exclaimed as she spun around. "Christophe came back this morning and said that Laura is still alive, and that she'd talked to Odd." She looked away again as she added, "But Laura also said that Yumi had been captured by someone named Dhaune? I guess she's one of Xana's lackeys."

He gasped. "Dhaune has Yumi! Fuck!" He stood up, only to be pushed down by the pirate queen. "What are you doing? I have to go find the others! Yumi is in danger!"

"And how exactly do you plan to get her back?" Emily challenged. "Do you intend to gain entry to Maera? Because good shitting luck with that!" She folded her arms. "Besides, we know at least two of your party members are M.I.A. Odd told Laura who told Christophe that he hadn't seen them, and he went out looking. He hasn't reported back, as far as I know."

"Shit. Shit!" Ulrich cursed. He paced for a while and then stopped. "Where is the Eluvian? Do you have it?"

"No; I think that the Empress ordered that it be taken to the palace." Emily said. "After all, your little group was the rightful owner of it."

Ulrich sighed. "Time to visit Laura then."

The pirate queen caught him. "Wait. You've only just recovered. You shouldn't be taking on strenuous activities."

"Are you a fucking doctor now?" He demanded, waving her off. "I've taken worse than this. I'll be fine." The Mercenary stormed out of the room, Emily on his heels.

"Neptune's ass. Slow down!" She ordered. He didn't bother. "I want you to join my crew!"

He stopped and turned to show that his expression was as stony as the castle of Capital Lyoko. "Seriously!? What about my friends? You don't have to be a fortune teller to see that shit is going to explode. I'm not sure what yet, but it will."

"Not now, of course! But yes, seriously." She answered. "I've seen you fight. You're talented. We could always use another swashbuckler and you'll need an escape route if this goes bad or something more than domestication if you win." She folded her arms, adding. "And you're not a half bad sailor to boot. I foresee minimum keelhauling." She meant it as a joke but he wasn't in the mood.

He didn't smile, the frown never leaving his face however after a moment his expression turned thoughtful as he considered what would happen after they won. Adventure, fighting and money appealed far more than retirement after all. But could he leave the others after this? "My question stands, what about the others?"

"Some could join us! I adore Aelita and her magic is impressively dangerous. Jeremie would follow her anywhere and I'm sure we could find a use for him. And I can think of worse fates than having a werewolf and a vampire protecting my crew!" Ulrich seemed surprised. "I'm not an idiot. My father used to be a magistrate, back when I actually thought family bonds meant something."

"Would you think me rude if I asked what you meant?"

Emily frowned, but she didn't refuse him. "You must know about Aelita's past." He nodded. "Getting grabbed by slavers is only one way to end up at a slave port. Sometimes, when your family is really poor, they sell mouths that they can't afford to feed. That's what happened to me." Ulrich seemed disturbed, but she kept going. "That's not the only way, though. I met one guy who'd sold himself, some criminals sold by some king or something in the Uncharted South, and rival slavers who had been conquered. But, yeah, my parents sold me into slavery."

"That's… horrible!"

"Yeah, but now I'm a pirate queen, so everything worked out for the best." She shrugged it off, but Ulrich could still tell that she was uncomfortable with discussing her past. Humor and compensation appeared to be how she handled that, whereas Aelita had handled it with lies and silence. "So, what do you say? About joining my crew?"

Now he was silent as he considered this. There was something just barely present in her eyes. Did she like him more than just as a potential crew member? "This seems like a big commitment. I'll have to consider it." He rubbed his neck. "For now, I have to get to Laura. I need to contact my friends. I need to know that they're safe. Or, mostly safe." She nodded, and helped him gather his things for the journey. It took two and a half hours to reach Capital Lyoko from the small makeshift port where Emily had docked, but since there were no civilians left to roam the streets, it was easy to reach the castle and gain entry.

Surprisingly, Laura seemed more than pleased that Ulrich was safe. She even hugged him, which was unwelcome, and came off as awkward. "I'm so glad to see you. Do you have news of the others?" Laura asked. Ulrich explained what he knew, and while she obviously worried about their friends, she expressed a faint hope that Yumi would find a way to escape with the information that they needed to enter Maera. "Anyway, we should probably try to find Odd. I know that he's still alive, and he was going to find Jeremie and Aelita."

She motioned for him to follow her and led him down towards the dungeon, explaining that she was keeping the Eluvian there in case anyone tried to go through it, like Anthea had done after the incident in the Beyond. As they walked, he noticed that the palm of her hand seemed a bit more red than usual, but she had also been under more stress. The Fair Empress explained that she believed that she could use the mirror as a conduit and reverse Jeremie's one-sided telepathy so that she could temporarily initiate the connection, at least long enough to learn his location.

"Are you sure that you know how to do this?" Ulrich asked. "Where would you even learn a skill like that?"

"No worries; I know exactly what I'm doing! I've watched Aelita use this mirror many times!" Laura said. She didn't even sound confident in her words. But still, she summoned a white light in her hands and approached the Eluvian. The glass rippled for a moment, and then it began to glow. Through the light, Ulrich could make out a forest-like city. He could tell that he was seeing through another person's eyes, and that person was not used to their surroundings.

A voice echoed through the dungeon. "Aelita!"

"No, Laura," The Fair said, her voice full of sadness, and Ulrich remembered why. "Ulrich is with me. Where are you right now? I can see you aren't hurt, at least not badly."

"You won't believe this." Jeremie said. "I'm in Arlathan."

Ulrich laughed. "No way. Where are you really?"

"I'm not joking. I'm honestly in Arlathan. Look at all of the elves." Jeremie shifted his head so that way Laura and Ulrich could see the busy marketplace that seemed to part for him. Truly, everyone they saw was an elf, and they seemed honestly disturbed by Jeremie's presence. "Wait for night to fall and then try using the Eluvian as a portal. Be careful, though. Security here is awfully tight."

The duo agreed, and the connection was severed. Laura folded her hand daintily. "Well, at least we know where our friends are. That's a start." She said quietly. She looked at Ulrich, and then smiled. "If only I could create a connection with a normal mirror. It would be a lot easier than trying to sneak past guards or civilians."

"You managed to contact Jeremie. Maybe you could." Ulrich said. She narrowed her eyes, but looked back to the Eluvian. "I'll meet you back here after dinner. In the meantime, I'll be… around."

The Mercenary left and Laura looked back at her hand. The whispers came into her mind, and she focused upon the mirror.


	49. Spring 4

Episode 4: Dareth Shiral

6th of Eluviesta

Jeremie had found the infirmary, and he cautiously pushed the door open. The elf inside spun around and gasped when he saw him, and it was clear that he did not know that he was coming. This elf was dressed in red, with archaic designs that, according to the passive memories he now possessed due to Vigilance, appeared to signify healing. 'A nurse or doctor', Jeremie thought as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. The room had many other doors, all of which were closed.

The elf eyed Jeremie. His hair still had blood in it, and there were still small spaces on his face that he'd missed. His armor was dented in some places and covered in dust and dried blood, especially around his arm where armor was missing and roots grew out. The glass in front of his eyes was bent and cracked. While Jeremie didn't quite perceive himself as a scary person, obviously this elf did. "Is Aelita Durgenbora of the Aloten still here?" The Wise Man asked. The elf nodded, motioning over his shoulder at the door behind him with his thumb. Jeremie thanked him and walked past him, opening the door to Aelita's room. The elf grabbed the chair closest to him and collapsed into it.

Behind the door was a long hallway with long, spotless windows. Most were empty, though he finally spotted Aelita in one of them, sleeping soundly. He wanted to barge in, wake her up and thank her, but she'd had a long day and night, so he entered quietly. Jeremie pulled a chair closer to the gurney and looked closely.

Perhaps because of Vigilance, he saw tiny things about her that he hadn't before, or had forgotten. There were still tiny scars on her face from after he'd cast her out, the ones that made her look like she'd fought an animal, and a scar on her ear as if an earring had been brutally ripped out. But most notably was the red glow of her vallaslin.

His mouth twisted when he realized that watching her sleep was creepy, and he looked for something else to do. Luckily Odd entered, and when he saw Jeremie, he dropped the stack of books he carried. "Jeremie!" He said, and he ran forward. Suddenly he stopped. "Gods, what happened to your face?" The Scout looked around and picked up a hand mirror. He examined his own reflection before handing it to Jeremie.

The Wise Man grimaced. He was pale, and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. He was perturbed by the blood left, and he removed his spectacles to look at the shattered glass. He hadn't even noticed--which, he realized, was sort of ironic--and he concluded that he likely no longer needed them. Still, Jeremie was fond of them after so many years, and not wearing them felt strange, so he found an empty basket and pushed the glass out. "It's good to see you, Odd." Jeremie said. He sighed in a sympathetic way, and he added, "I understand that the past few hours have been traumatic."

"How much did Edna tell you?" He asked. Jeremie briefed him, and Odd nodded. "That sounds about right... I do feel bad about killing those slavers in such a horrible way, though. But they were horrible people and the world is better off with you in it instead."

Jeremie laughed. "Are we going to kiss now?"

Now Odd laughed. "Ugh!" He cringed as he stuck out his tongue. "I think your cousin might get jealous. Seriously though, glad to have you back, commander." He bent over and started picking up the books he dropped.

Jeremie helped, looking at all of them as he went. He recognized a few, though he wondered why Arlathan was in possession of human books for children. He commented on the ones he knew. "'The Eagle and the Arrow'! That used to be one of my favorites. 'The Lion in Love'? Mother read that to me." He commented. "What else have you brought?"

Odd reluctantly handed him the books. Among them were other fables such as 'the Thief and the House Dog', 'the Laborer and the Nightingale' and 'the Old Hound'. "Why the sudden interest in fables, Odd?"

First Odd looked to Aelita, who continued to sleep soundly. Then he picked the books and placed them on the bedside table. "Let's talk outside." The Scout said. The two boys walked out of the room.

"What is this about, Odd?"

"When... When Aelita decided that she was going to resurrect you, Edna agreed to help, but her motives why... I don't know, I just don't trust her. Anyway, Tamiya, Edna's new apprentice, gave Aelita a book with the most effective ritual for your circumstances inside." Odd looked tired, but he assumed everyone did. He also saw anticipation, regret and shame on his face. "But when Aelita looked at it, she gave it to me."

Jeremie narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

He threw his hands up, holding them there for a moment until he brought them down to his side. "She needed me to read it for her because it was written in the Common. She doesn't know how to read."

At first, Jeremie didn't believe him. Then, he studied the Scout's face. He still had scars left by silver, and yellow splotches were present in his orange eyes. He could see the small, almost unnoticeable point his ears came to, but most obviously, he saw truth in Odd's words. "There's truth in your face," he murmured, and louder he added, "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She seemed ashamed to admit it," Odd reasoned, "I think she hoped that it would never come up."

"Yes, that sounds like her." He agreed. Changing the subject, he explained that he had instructed Laura to bring the rest of the Heroes to Arlathan, since the magical energy that radiated within it would help disguise them from Xana's eyes.

This left Odd in an awkward situation. "Yumi has been kidnapped by Dhaune. She's probably in Maera by now."

Jeremie cursed loudly, and he tried to contact Yumi telepathically. Similarly to William after Dhaune kidnapped him in Falcon's Bridge, he could not establish a connection. "Perhaps Maera blocks out telepathy…?" He wondered, and then channeled Vigilance. The spirit lent him his enhanced field of vision, which extended the power and range of his telepathy. He could sense Odd's fear for his friends, and the faint whispers and growls of the wolf. He could sense the peaceful sleep of his lover, and even the fear of the elf that he'd nearly scared to death.

The Wise Man raised his hands, focusing on his memories of Yumi to try to find her. Eventually he located her, several hundred kilometers beneath the surface. When he established telepathic contact, he gained her heightened sense. Combined with Vigilance, Jeremie mentally constructed a map of Maera. "Yumi, there is an Eluvian in the Kenval estate. Find it and come to Arlathan."

"Jeremie? You're in Arlathan?" Yumi asked. "It doesn't matter; thank you. I'm going to try to break Xana's hold on William first, but I'll meet you there." Jeremie passed on his mental map to Yumi, and though he feared for her life, he wished her luck.

Jeremie and Odd entered the room again, just in time to see Aelita's vallaslin crack.

\---

Thankful for the map, though questioning how he'd gotten it, Yumi snuck through the alleyways and back roads of Maera. The roads were lit through mushrooms, and there were pulsating electric roots like those leading to the Factory. Yumi could hear water dripping from stalactites, and she could feel the rough brick become smooth granite as they moved closer to the estate.

"Do you know how to get into the estate without being noticed?" Yumi asked her brother. His eyes looked strange, as if they were fighting the vampirism. She wished that he wouldn't, since that would only make it more painful.

"There's a gate out back, but it's always locked." Hiroki said. "It's not too far away, if you think you can break the lock."

"Where would William be?"

Hiroki shook his head. "No. He's never in the same place twice. I've only ever seen him once down here, and that was after Dhaune kidnapped him."

Yumi cursed, and she examined the map. "I would assume that he might be at the barracks, or near the chamber where I woke up. But it's too dangerous to go back that way." She whispered. "If only we could lure him to us, that would make things easier, but we can't risk drawing attention to ourselves. We're powerful, but no match for a mob." She twisted her face in thought, and then sighed. "I guess we have no choice but to head towards the estate and hope for the best."

She took her brother's hands and continued through the back roads. Eventually he stopped and motioned for the gate closest to them. "This is the garden gate, but it's locked, as always." Hiroki said, and Yumi tested the gate. It was a strong lock but not strong enough. She grabbed the gate and pulled on it, veins popping out on her neck before ripping it off of its hinges.

Hiroki, despite fearful of their vampirism, let out a small cheer as his sister tossed the gate aside like paper. "Jeremie mentioned an eluvian. I don't know why the drow would have one since those roots are more practical, but Xana must have some kind of plan for it." She peered around the corner, checking to make sure that the garden was empty before running for the door.

The inside of the estate was decorated beautifully, with high ceilings and tapestries depicting the Destruction Mother and famous Kenval Matrons. Hiroki led his sister through the labyrinthine halls, and Yumi listened for the slight, almost silent chiming that came from the eluvian. Instead, she heard a familiar voice. She silenced her brother and opened a door.

There, surrounded by hundreds of scrolls on shelves far over Yumi's head, stood William, his back turned to her. Yumi entered on her toes, pushing Hiroki between the wall and a shelf. However, he struggled, not wanting to miss the action once again, and several of the scrolls fell.

William turned, and he locked eyes with the Colonist. Neither moved for a long time, and then William summoned his sword. Yumi searched inside her armor for her fans, snapping them open with a single flick of her wrists. The fallen Vanguard charged, ruthless as ever, and Yumi stepped out of his way, kicking his back.

He stumbled, but didn't fall and while Yumi wondered why he hadn't bothered to find ways to keep his balance he became smoke. Yumi raised her guard, never staying still and rotating to increase her chances of spotting him. She heard him materialize behind her, and she spun on her heel, grabbing his arm before he could bring his sword down upon her.

She shoved his arm away and backed up a step, her eyes glowing more fiercely as she summoned her telekinesis to rip William's sword from his hands. The glow dimmed as she nearly broke his arm, and the dark elf cried out in pain. He tried to turn to smoke again, but Yumi lunged forward and threw him to the ground. William knocked her feet out from under her, and she fell. As he scrambled to his feet Yumi scrambled towards his legs, managing to grab on and pull one leg out from under him just as he regained his footing. Again the dark elf fell, and she climbed over him and grabbed his hair.

She roughly pulled his head up, and she bit his neck. William's eyes closed slowly, and she could sense that he would wake shortly. She hadn't turned him into a vampire—she'd wanted to, but didn't want to risk killing him through the turning, since she could sense that he likely would not have survived. Instead she had made him her servant. He was connected to Yumi, and to a smaller extent Hiroki, and if she ever demanded it, he was subject to her will.

She could sense that he was hers, but she didn't stand up until he opened his eyes and whispered, "Yumi?"

"William!" She called out, helping him to his feet before trapping him in a hug.

"What happened?" He wondered aloud, and he was even more confused when he saw her orange eyes. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

Yumi sighed. "Do you not remember anything?"

"I remember… being attacked by Dhaune. There was… fire and…" He struggled to find the words. "I remember being tortured, and then… I remember nothing else. I'm sorry." He narrowed his eyes. "Don't think that I didn't notice you didn't answer my question."

"I'll explain when we're safe. For now, we have to find the Eluvian and escape to Arlathan." Yumi said, calling Hiroki from the shadows.

"Hiroki?" William questioned, turning to see the Nihonjin boy. The Vanguard looked back to Yumi. "Are we in Maera?" Yumi nodded, but she didn't say anything else.

Hiroki led them through the halls, with William at rear guard to try to convince the slaves and servants that all three belonged. They would have to avoid the more prominent members of House Kenval, but they encountered none.

Yumi stopped and pointed at the door. "I think I hear the Eluvian through here." She said. William opened the door, and they saw Dhaune within, standing alone.

"Oh, no. It would seem as though the prisoners are escaping." Dhaune sighed. She turned around and activated the Eluvian as the three fugitives ran inside. "Where do you intend to go?"

"It doesn't matter; you won't be alive to tell your Matron." Yumi threatened.

Dhaune shook her head. "No, I suppose I won't be. But you don't know how to use the Eluvians, whereas I do." When there was no sound, she added, "Listen, it's two against one, and I've… lost faith in the war. If you don't kill me before you escape, Xana will kill me after you escape. So I want to help you escape, and then I want you to kill me."

William seemed confused. "You want to die?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Is that so hard to understand?" She folded her arms across her chest. "There are lots of things that you don't remember, William. I'm done fighting." Hiroki impulsively told Dhaune their destination, much to Yumi's chagrin. The general used her magic on the eluvian, and the image changed. "Hiroki, William, emma lath… dareth shiral."

William walked past her nervously, and was the first to enter the eluvian. He seemed fine, and motioned for the other two to follow him. Hiroki ran through, and Yumi walked up to Dhaune. "Good-bye, Dhaune." She said, taking the general's face in her hands. She kissed her, and then killed her with a single snap. Dhaune's body crumpled to the floor, and the Colonist murmured the Elven eulogy as best she could before following the boys.

\---

Ulrich met Laura in the dungeon, and he was disturbed by the worried expression on her face. "Are you ready to enter Arlathan?" He asked, and she turned.

"As ready as I'll ever be," She said, looking over her shoulder to him. "How about you?"

"I don't have much choice." Ulrich said.

Laura nodded, and the two faced the Eluivan. Laura took a deep breath and summoned her magic, which activated the mirror. The mirror's image changed, and Laura smiled. "I did it! I actually did it!" Ulrich looked at her, and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, of course I did it; did you expect anything less?" She kept her back straight and walked through the Eluvian.

Ulrich followed her, but when they looked around, they realized that they were not in Arlathan. Ulrich had never been to the elvhen capital, but this area was full of mirrors, and around them were tall cliffs and foreign plants. "Where are we?" He asked, looking up at the floating mirrors above them.

"I don't know," Laura said, "but it looks like this is the place where all of the Eluvians meet." She seemed disturbed, but she smiled at Ulrich. "So, we aren't too far from our destination. We just have to find out where the Eluvian leading to Arlathan is."

Ulrich frowned intensely, and Laura looked away. They walked silently, with Laura looking at each Eluvian to try to identify Arlathan's. "Do you know what you're looking for?" Ulrich asked.

She scoffed. "Of course I do!" She rejected the next mirror and next, and then started walking towards the next largest mirror. "That one feels right."

He sighed and followed her, his eyes facing the floating mirrors. One started to shake, and it fell. How it had done so, he had no idea, but he traced its path and screamed. Laura turned in time to watch the mirror crush him.

"Ulrich!" She shouted, running over to the Mercenary. She pushed the shattered pieces of the Eluvian off of him. "Ulrich, are you alright?" She asked as she pulled him out. Blood was coming out of his eyes and mouth, and there were many cuts. There were shards of glass stuck in his skin, but when she tried to touch them, they sank into his skin. The blood vanished, and the cuts healed. "Ulrich?"

His eyes snapped open, his eyes blood red before returning to normal. "Laura!" He shouted. He pushed her away before he looked at the fallen mirror. "I'm fine."

Laura was skeptical, but she couldn't see or sense anything wrong with him. "We should get out of here, before anything else here tries to kill us." She helped him to his feet, and motioned for him to follow her through the eluvian.

\---

Jeremie sensed it when his friends all entered Arlathan. Aelita had not yet awoken, but her sleep was growing restless, and he sensed that she would soon wake up. "Odd, will you go find the others and bring them here?" The Scout nodded, and he left the room. Jeremie kept himself occupied until Aelita shot up. Her breath was shallow, and she held her heart. She locked eyes with Jeremie, and she smiled. She jumped out of the gurney and kissed him, holding him as tight as she could.

"Ma vhenan! You're alive!" She cried out. She started sobbing happily, afraid that if she let him go, he would disappear, or die again. Jeremie stroked her hair, whispering into it.

"Thank you, Aelita." He said, and he forced the two apart so they could kiss again. The door opened, and the other Heroes entered, including William. While both Jeremie and Aelita seemed happy to see to see him, William narrowed his eyes. "Well, now that we're all back together, we should discuss our next plan of attack."

"Capital Lyoko is back under our control. With this good news, I can call upon our allies and request reinforcements. In the meantime, my soldiers will continue to liberate nearby towns." Laura said.

"Good. That will really help us." Jeremie encouraged. "So long as we can maintain control of the area, it should be safer for people."

They spoke for a long time, discussing the area where the Eluvians connected and Dhaune's death. They also discussed what happened during the battle, and they explained gently to William what had happened since he was kidnapped. As they spoke, the elf Jeremie had frightened earlier entered. "Aelita Durgenbora? The Hahrenen have called for mien'harel."

There was silence as a look of terror spread across the Outcast's face. "What does that mean?" Ulrich asked.

"Mien'harel means 'call for judgment'." She translated.

"So, this is what? A trial?" Yumi asked. "On what charge?"

Aelita shrugged as she nervously walked out of the room. "I don't know. I won't know until I get there." Outside, Edna and Tamiya stood, waiting for them. When she saw how Edna stood, Aelita removed the flute form of Samahlin from her neck and handed it to her Hahren. Then, the leader of the Aloten led the Heroes towards the center of Arlathan.

The center of Arlathan was located under the dahl'amythal, which was an ancient tree, and likely the last of its kind in Medieuropa. It stood several hundred meters tall, with its pale yellow blossoms swaying gently in the breeze. Despite it still being very late at night, there were still hundreds of elves in the square, waiting anxiously as the teens walked towards the center. Lots of them, especially younger children, were frightened by the humans. William couldn't help but wonder if the city ever slept. Many regal-looking elves waited in the center, and Edna took her place among them. Tamiya motioned for the other Heroes to stand back as Aelita stood alone.

It was unnerving for so many eyes to be focused on her alone. She rubbed at her glowing vallaslin, wondering what it meant. She looked up as the elves in front of her parted way for the King of Elvhenan, Hanal'ghilan Solas, and the Shaman of Arlathan. Aelita took a deep breath in. "I do not know what this is about." She said.

The king waved his hand, but remained silent. One of the Hahren pointed at her friends and shouted, "Look! She's brought more humans into the city!"

Aelita looked at the Heroes. "This is about my friends?" She asked, "I only brought Jeremie and Odd here because—"

"Halam!" King Solas shouted, his voice deep and intimidating. His vallaslin meant 'pride'. He turned to Edna. "This is your former apprentice, Edna?" He asked.

"Yes, my king." She said. "Aelita is a changeling, born to Anthea and Waldo Sarethari, raised by Eleanor and Lowel Tyron."

"So she is not truly one of us anyway!" The first Hahren to speak shouted. Laura rolled her eyes, remembering the idiots of Halamshiral.

King Solas made a nonspecific noise. "Aelita Durgenbora, you stand before the Hahrenen accused of bringing humans into Arlathan—which I don't have to remind you is treason." Aelita visibly shuddered, but she tried to remain calm. Solas looked at Edna. "What say you?"

"I agreed to help Aelita resurrect Jeremie Belpois in exchange for the staff that she carried, a powerful elvhen artifact called Samahlin. She brought Odd Della-Robbia to help her." Edna explained.

"But there are more than just two humans in front of us, Hahren."

Edna seemed flustered. "They are her friends, but they were not part of the vir sulevanan we agreed to." Jeremie tried to step forward to admit he'd called the others to Arlathan, but Tamiya stopped him. Aelita opened her mouth to explain the situation but her voice was overshadowed by the voices of the Hahrenen arguing. Edna was the lone voice advocating in Aelita's favor; the others were arguing for punishment.

The king stood. "Shaman, her vallaslin looks very strange. Why is that?" He asked the elderly woman who had, up until now, been silent.

The Shaman walked towards Aelita, and she examined the changeling very carefully. She held out her hand, which had long dirty fingernails on it, and Aelita cautiously held out her arm. The Shaman rubbed it carefully, examining the glow. "It is vallasdin—the rejection of the blood writing." Aelita had never heard of such a thing, but obviously it must have happened before now. The Shaman explained that vallasdin occurred when a virtue that had earned the elf their vallaslin was rejected—in Aelita's case, she had refused to endure, and instead resurrected her lover. The old elven woman took two steps back, hit the ground with her staff, pointed the tip in Aelita's face and traced along the vallasdin until it had vanished. Aelita's skin was no longer marked with pink, but instead with cuts and bruises that had never before manifested. It was obviously strange and traumatic for poor Aelita—she started rubbing her arm in disbelief, as if she was having a bad dream. She looked back to the Shaman. "You must earn it again, now." She said gruffly.

"So there is nothing in your favor? No noble house, no vallaslin, nothing?" Solas shouted. "Just the word of your former Hahren, who according to everything we know, you got killed in the first place?!"

"It wasn't like that!" Edna shouted out of turn.

Aelita ran forward a few feet. "Am I not able to speak for myself?" She questioned. "Elvhenan means everything to me! I would never—"

Solas waved his hand once more. "Halam sahlin!" He shouted, silencing everyone in the area. He looked to both his sides at the Hahrenen, then to the crowd, and finally at Aelita. "The Hahrenen have called for mien'harel, and I pass it now! Aelita Durgenbora, da'len Aloten, him harellan!" Aelita jumped, and she pulled her arms close to her chest. "Tel garas uth in Arlathan! Mala u'suledin nadas."

"Hanal'ghilan Solas, ir abelas!" Aelita shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Tel'abelas! Dirthara ma, len'alas lath'din." He spat. Aelita struggled to hold back tears. "Leave before the sun rises." The crowd was silent, and Edna shot a sympathetic glance at Aelita. There were tears in her eyes. Aelita finally started sobbing uncontrollably, falling to her knees. Jeremie and Ulrich helped her to her feet, and they left with the eyes of Arlathan focused upon them.

\---

7th of Eluviesta

Aelita watched as her friends walked one by one through the Eluvian, prepped to take them to Castle Lyoko. "Aren't you coming?" Yumi asked. She replied that she would shortly, but she wanted one last look at Arlathan before she left. The first, and the last, look at Arlathan was tainted by misery. This was the city that she had waited her whole life to gain entrance to, the place she thought she would finally find a permanent home, and within hours they called her a traitor.

Just as Aelita turned to enter the Eluvian, Tamiya rushed in, out of breath. "Aelita!" She called out. The Southerner elf handed Aelita the flute Samahlin carefully.

"Did Edna send you to give this to me?" Aelita asked.

"Yes." Tamiya nodded. "She said you need it more than her. And, for what it's worth… I'm sorry about what happened at the trial. That was… unfortunate and you deserve better."

Aelita looked at the mirror and then to the young elven girl. She murmured, "Did I really?"

"Yes, you did, really." Tamiya said, holding the Outcast's hand. "Dareth shiral, Aelita."

"Dareth shiral." Aelita said before turning and entering the Eluvian. The magic dispelled without a sound.


	50. Spring 5

Episode 5: Adaptation

9th of Eluviesta

William was disturbed by the news that he had been brainwashed by Xana. The idea that he had been turned against his friends was frightening--even more than the thought of being a vampire's servant. So far, Yumi hadn't ordered him to do anything and maintained that she had only made him her servant so she could break Xana's hold on him, but the vampire's will had created a hive mind. He could also still feel Xana clawing at his mind, trying to break him, to subdue him again. He feared that she would find them through him, and then kill them.

He looked at the city, observing the soldiers who were cleaning up. Despite Laura's best efforts to keep them back, the citizens of Lyoko were returning to the capital. It was understandable; they wanted their lives to go back to normal. He didn't see how they could return to the site of so much death and destruction, however. So Laura had asked for her soldiers to help make the city more livable, and sometimes, through the rubble, William could see citizens walking about, and some even helped the soldiers clean.

He turned to look as Princess Laura entered the room. Empress Laura Gauthier, he reminded himself, and he bowed. She curtsied, her heavy royal blue robes rustling. William wore a black tunic, heavy blue pants and black shoes that laced up. Laura's robes had violet accents and gold embroidery, and her hair was braided and pulled up. The risen Vanguard leaned against the wall and looked out the window. Her dress, his own attire and even that of the other warriors, who hadn't worn armor since returning to the capitol despite the constant presence of their weapons, served only to remind him of how much things changed.

"It's weird to be home again." He said, looking out to the damaged wall. Fixing it properly would be top priority, as soon as she was sure that the people she would send for supplies would be as safe as possible. For now the breach was being filled in with rubble from the city.

"I'm sure it must be. We watched this place burn, and now we're living here again, at least for a while." Laura said, folding her hands delicately across her lap as she sat down. "Have you made any progress with accessing your memories?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No. I wish I had more information to give you." He folded his arms. "I fear that Xana might be keeping it from me."

"She must know that you're gone, but I hope that you are incorrect." She sighed and looked away from the window. "I know we dropped a lot on you the other day. How are you coping?"

"As well as I can. Yumi a vampire, your father dead... this demon after Aelita's soul... I'm afraid this is a bit overwhelming."

"I understand. If I had been in your shoes, I would have trouble accepting it too."

"My lady, about what happened between you and Jeremie..." William started.

Laura held up her hand. "Don't. I broke it off with him. I didn't want us both miserable; it's better this way."

"That doesn't mean you can't mourn the loss."

"What good will that do? It's in the past, and no good will come from me sobbing. Besides, I think I'm finally moving on." There was such hope in her voice that William couldn't help but think she had someone else in mind already. She stood, and she then hugged the Vanguard. "I'm glad that you're safe, William."

He cautiously returned the hug. "As am I, Your Majesty."

\---

"Aelita? How are you feeling?" Jeremie asked, knocking on Aelita's bedroom door. She was on the ground floor, closer to the earth for a number of reasons. He wore a long, heavy brown vest with delicate embroidery, and a lighter blue tunic underneath. He took off his shoes before he pushed the door open.

She stood next to the window, but judging by the look on her face, she wasn't looking at anything. The overcast skies weren't providing shapes for her to observe, and though this room overlooked the garden, it consisted of mostly dead flora. The Outcast wore a heavy black sweater--likely belonging to Yumi--and a knee-length floral skirt. She didn't respond to him.

He sighed, but he was simply glad she hadn't locked him out. She must've been too shocked to have even reacted in her typical way--which was to shut down completely. It was understandable, since she'd been isolated most of her life, which had largely been tragic. "I'm right here, if you want to talk."

She was still quiet, though her shoulders shook. She covered her mouth with her hand, likely to hide the fact that her lips had curled in an attempt to hold back tears. "Jeremie, I don't think there is a polite way to say this. I love you, but this topic makes me want to vomit, so if you could kindly piss off, I'd appreciate it."

He chuckled, but his face became stern. He looked at her in silence for a long time. Everything about her seemed new, as if a fog had been lifted. He could see the smallest details about her, from the unevenness of her rosy hair to the faint freckles on her slightly sunburnt nose. He could see the mud between her toes, and the dirt and dried blood under her fingernails. The Wise Man was grateful to the spirit of Vigilance, not only for helping Aelita give him his life back, but for helping him to see why he was fighting all over again.

Aelita shifted, and the sleeve covering her arm fell down. The scars left by blood magic were visible now, as was a long scar that seemed out of place. Jeremie realized that this scar followed a major blood vessel; whatever had caused that scar had tried to kill her. But for such a scar to be present, for her to have been still long enough for it to be as large as it was, it must have been self-inflicted. In that moment he clearly remembered Aelita's story about her life as a slave. He recalled her saying that, just before the slavers caught her, she'd thrown herself off a cliff in hopes of ending her life.

"Aelita," Jeremie said firmly, "I'm not going to 'piss off', as you say. I'm worried about you."

"You don't have to worry! I can take care of myself." She said.

"That's why I'm worried." He explained. She looked at him, confused, and he added, "I'm afraid that you're going to hurt yourself again!" She recoiled, and her posture changed. The Outcast visibly shied away from him, pulling her arms closer to her chest and raising her shoulders nearly to her jaw. She said nothing. "Aelita, please. I want to help. This was all my fault, and I want to fix it! But I can only help if you let me!"

Her eyes widened again, and then she furrowed her brows. "You're right! This is all your fault!" She shouted. He winced and turned his gaze to the floor as she continued, "Why did you call the others to Arlathan? Why?"

"I-I thought it would be safer there! I thought we'd have time to plan and get organized!" He knew that it was pointless to explain. The damage was done. The next words escaped his mouth before he could stop it. "I didn't think they would mind, since we were traveling with you."

"I couldn't get in on my own! What made you think me being there with you would change their feelings?" She demanded.

He kept talking. He couldn't stop, though he knew that he should have. "In Halamshiral, most of the elves didn't even care that we were there. How could I possibly--"

"I didn't let you into Halamshiral! Nim did!" Aelita was furious, her anger darkening her cheeks and shrinking her pupils. She stormed about, tearing at her hair. "Everything is wrong! This never should have happened! I wish… I wish I hadn't… I wish I hadn't brought you back! I wish you were still dead!"

Her words were worse than anything. "A... Aelita, you don't mean that?" He looked back up at her, eyes brimming with tears, "Please, calm down. You know I never meant for this to happen!"

"Shut up! I hate you!" She screamed, covering her ears. He began to think he preferred it when she shut down, as opposed to taking her abuse head on.

"No you don't!" He pleaded.

"Don't tell me what to think!"

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I was only trying to help! I--"

"You want to help?" Aelita shouted, tears in her eyes. "Then leave! Get out!"

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"Then I'm leaving!" She screamed as she opened the window. He caught her arm, and she used a strong force spell to throw him across the room. Aelita climbed onto the balcony and transformed into an owl before flying away.

Jeremie cursed as he stood. "Why does she always do that?" He hissed. He forced himself to his feet as Ulrich entered the room.

"I heard something. Are you okay?" The Mercenary asked.

"Yeah. Aelita's shut down again, like she did after Marsy." He explained.

Ulrich nodded. "That makes sense. This was traumatic." He folded his arms across his chest. "So, how are we going to pull her out of this one? Seems like she's skipped straight to the 'beat the shit out of my lover' stage."

Jeremie was defensive for a moment. "She didn't... oh, whatever." His eyes became a slightly brighter blue, as if Vigilance were more prominent. His voice grew deeper, furthering this idea. "Aelita's afraid to get emotionally close to people. This is obvious. It likely stems back to her traumatic past, which involves violent people, or people violently leaving. This, too, is obvious." He started to pace. "But what I can't understand is why she refuses to move on, why she won't let anyone help her move past her... well, her past. I understand why it isn't me; I'm not exactly an easy person to talk to. But why not you or Yumi?"

"Because moving past a traumatic experience is hard, and for Aelita, it wasn't just one experience? None of us have any experience that equals what she went through." Ulrich offered. "She was abandoned for her own good by her parents who didn't have enough foresight to be wise, she was raised in a household that physically and emotionally abused her, her mother figure was burned in front of her, she killed her best friend and then she was a slave for four years before murdering her way to freedom." He leaned against the wall. "A lot of us have experienced things that are similar but not all at once. And we can't ignore that she's kept us in the dark about the two years between her escape and when we met her. Judging by the patterns her life goes through? She got into some heavy shit in that time."

The Wise Man sighed. "At some point, she tried to kill herself. I don't know when but it wasn't recently. The scar is pretty old, likely only showing up now because her vallaslin hid her scars." He sighed. "But why? It didn't hide the scars left by whips. Why hide some scars but not all of them?"

Ulrich shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it only hid wounds that she inflicted on herself?"

"That... makes a lot of sense. But who or what saved her? Why didn't that cut kill her?"

"Maybe it was destiny."

Jeremie laughed as he pushed his hair out of his face. "I don't believe in destiny."

Ulrich hid a smirk. "Still, I don't know how any of this helps us. Aelita doesn't seem to think on her past."

The Wise Man's eyes lit up. "Then maybe we should focus on her future."

\---

Hiroki looked at the mirror. He wanted to see his reflection but was unable to. So he stood in front of Yumi's vanity, staring at where his face should have been reflected and instead only seeing the calm, dark bed chamber provided for the Colonist.

He finally opened his mouth and felt his teeth. They were large, pointy and unnatural. He felt large, pointy and unnatural. Everything around him was too soft and fragile.

As he tried to grow used to his new body, he noticed the door swing open in the mirror. Hiroki turned to see his sister standing there, quiet as a mouse. "You'll never see yourself in the mirror again, you know." Yumi said, harsh words offered in a light tone.

"I don't get it. Why haven't you tried to cure yourself?" Hiroki asked.

"Because the easiest way to cure vampirism is to kill the forebear, but I didn't have one. I was cursed." Yumi sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I think Patrick, Jeremie's cousin in the magistrates, is looking for a way to cleanse the cursed relic and cure me, but so far, he hasn't made any progress."

Hiroki still looked confused, so Yumi explained the Masque of the Black Rabbit in more detail. He didn't seem comforted by the idea of the Masque, but he didn't say anything and simply left the room. Yumi watched him leave, and then sighed heavily as she looked through her bags.

The Masque of the Black Rabbit was still there, the crack still present. She wondered if the Red Scholars knew that she'd taken it, and she wondered even more if it could hurt her any more than it had.

Why was it so difficult to let a cursed, forgotten relic go? She felt so safe holding it, like it was a security blanket from her childhood. She buried it under her things once more.

\---

Emily looked up at the grey sky. She leaned against the side of the ship and closed her eyes for a moment. She took in the sea breeze, and the gentle swaying of the ship. Suddenly, the pirate queen stood up straight, and she turned to look at the makeshift dock. Aelita stood quietly, and Emily could tell something was wrong. "Permission to come aboard?" The Outcast shouted.

Emily nodded, and Aelita slowly boarded the pirate ship. Emily jumped when she saw that her markings were gone. "Gods! What happened to your face?" The other elven girl frowned deeply, and the captain quickly corrected her words. "I'm sorry. I… guess I sort of assumed that they were permanent?"

"So did I," Aelita admitted sadly. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"

"Sure, let's go up to my cabin." Emily said as she stretched. "You can explain why you look so bitter."

"I'm not bitter." Aelita said bitterly, with a bitter expression. Emily smiled and shook her head before leading her up to her quarters. The pirate sat down immediately, but the Outcast fumbled around, making two cups of tea. Emily would never admit it, but Aelita's cooking was actually terrible. She cooked like an elf, and elves were more focused on the practicality of the food, as opposed to the taste. So she politely drank the tea, which was slightly less bitter than Aelita's expression.

"What's up?" Emily asked.

Aelita explained what had happened during the battle for Capital Lyoko, and what had occurred afterwards, in Arlathan. She explained the necromantic ritual, and the trial. Then, she looked forlornly at her arm, tracing the long scar. Emily watched her do so, and remembered the night that it had happened. She remembered the blood--there was so much of it that it stained the sheets, so much blood that the caretaker who washed the sheets was shocked, even though it hadn't been the first time that stained fabric had come to her--and she remembered Aelita's eyes, closed as if she was asleep and not on death's door. It had been one of the scariest nights of Emily's life, though it wasn't among the memories that woke her in cold sweats on nights where the sea shook her ship.

Emily looked away. There were things from her life before that she had no choice but to carry with her, as no doubt Aelita did as well. But where Emily tried to move on, Aelita still lived. She was frozen in time, forever a child forced into a world of silken fabrics and forced smiles to men who came to touch. The pirate queen wondered what would have happened to her if Aelita had stayed with her. Would she have become a pirate, too? No, she decided, it seemed more likely that they would have parted ways eventually. Emily looked to the art she displayed above her bed, noting in particular the crest of the Falonen u'Tathas--the Friends of Tathas. That, she concluded with a small sigh, was likely the group that Aelita would have joined.

There was a long pause as the two runaway slaves sat in silence. The breeze caused the ship to creak, and shouts could be heard from Emily's crew. "Emily…" Aelita murmured, and the captain looked at her. Aelita rubbed her hands, obviously a lot on her mind. So many scars and bruises were visible. The Outcast had never looked so… fragile. "Am I crazy?!" She suddenly blurted out.

She laughed loudly. "Yes, but in a good way."

"I was so mean. Beyond mean--I was cruel." She said sadly. "I don't understand why I do this. Am I insane? Or am I just being selfish? I…"

"Selfish people live longer." The pirate queen said. She swirled the tea in her cup. She might have started to acquire a taste for it.

"I've lost everything," She whispered. "I have nothing. I've been exiled and abandoned and… and I don't know what to do!"

"You haven't lost everything. You have your friends, and you have me." Emily covered her heart with her hands daintily. "We always said we'd be friends forever!"

Aelita wasn't in the mood to joke. "We never said that."

"We didn't? We should have."

"Emily, I'm being serious! What am I supposed to do?"

Emily thought for a moment. "I think that you should think of this as a chance to reinvent yourself." She said firmly. "You've always identified yourself by how others saw you. Now is your chance to be who you want to be. Look at me! I decided that I was going to own a ship, and now I have a ship! So, say you wanted to be… fuck, I don't know. An author or something. Then you should just… start writing and become an author." Emily rubbed her forehead. She wasn't very good at pep talks. She added that to a list of New Year's resolutions before realizing it was far too late in the year for that sort of thing.

Aelita was quiet for an awfully long time. "I should probably learn how to read first."

"Good! Make achievable goals! I like it." Emily said.

"And I should probably apologize for Jeremie, since I got mad at him for offering to teach me." She waved her arms dramatically. "I said, 'oh, what's this? Let's teach the poor slave how to read!' I was actually really rude and he was just trying to help." That had been two days ago, when they returned to Capital Lyoko.

"Yes, I like where this is going."

"I should also apologize for force throwing him against the wall."

"Goo--what?"

"I've been acting horribly, to be honest. He was just trying to help." Aelita ran her fingers through her hair. "Do you think he'll understand?"

"I think you owe him more than an apology if you threw him against the wall." Emily said, her face twisted in confusion. "Isn't he… remind me not to bet against you in a fight."

"Well. it wasn't like I picked him up and chucked him out the window--why are we talking about this?" Aelita tried to explain. "Look, I didn't want to talk about Arlathan or my scars and he kept pressuring me to and then he wouldn't leave me alone and…" She shook her hands. "Whatever. I need to go."

Emily waved goodbye to her old friend, still confused. "That's not a good enough reason to throw someone against the wall. Maybe pinching him or something…"

\---

As she walked, she thought. She thought about her human 'family' and the Aloten Clan. She thought about Arak-Muna and Mamae Asha and the Gypsy. She couldn't forget all of those things but she decided that she wouldn't let them keep her down.

Aelita decided to change her name. She was just Stone, now. Not Hopper, like someone who couldn't stay still. Not Durgenbora, a name that had no meaning without a clan. Just Aelita Stone, an ancient hero combined with a solid force of nature. It felt better and right. And Aelita Stone decided she would be happier, even if it hurt at first. She loved to dance, to play music and to sing, all of which she hadn't done for pleasure in so long. In short, she just decided that she would be happier. She wasn't sure if would work, but it was worth a shot. What had that old man from Sensy told her? She was having trouble remembering it, but it was something along the lines of pretending until it was achieved.

Not watching where she was going, Aelita slammed into a door as it opened. She recoiled, holding her face in her hands as Laura spun around. "Aelita! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

"Are you really?" The Outcast murmured.

The Empress sighed. "Yes, really. Honestly, this rivalry is so tiring." She folded her arms. "And since you won't believe me if I inquire as to your physical well-being, may I at least know where you've been?"

"I was upset, so I went to talk to Emily."

"You were on the Skidbladnir?" Laura said, taking a few quick steps closer to Aelita, who held up her hands. "Did you see Christophe? What did he say?"

"I saw him on my way back. He said, 'hi little elf, whoa, what happened to your face? Sorry, that was rude. I've got duties to attend to, so tell everyone that I said hi.'" She folded her arms, leaned forward and smirked. "You've fallen hard and fast."

"Shut up! I was just curious!" She pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear nervously. "By the way, Jeremie was looking for you. I assume that you stopped talking to everyone? It wouldn't surprise me." She started to walk away.

"Wait," Aelita called out. Laura turned. The Outcast smirked again. "Do you want me to talk to Christophe for you?" She teased.

"Shut up!"

Aelita laughed. She had forgotten about the pain in her nose already, and she returned to her mission. She found Jeremie in the library, trying to sift through the books and scrolls which hadn't yet been scavenged or destroyed. He heard her enter and immediately looked up, and they were both quiet for a moment. Then, she offered a small smile, and he returned it with a bigger one. He ran towards her and hugged her.

She hugged him back, but then broke it. "Listen, I want to apologize to you." He didn't say anything. "I've been… really mean lately. I've said some things that weren't nice. I was mad at the world and I was taking it out on you. That was wrong, and I know that me just saying sorry doesn't make it right, but…" She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I want to be better."

Jeremie nodded. "I understand. And I want to help you, however I can." He tried his best to convey his feelings, but it wasn't an easy task. "And I know that what happened to you in your past was horrible and scarring in more ways than one, and I know that you would rather not talk about it. So, you should know that… I am here, if you want to talk about it, but I think we should also talk about the future."

Aelita tilted her head in confusion, and then she laughed. "Jeremie?"

He blushed. "I-I'm not saying th-that we should get married or anything. I'm just…" He looked at his feet. "I'm just saying that… we should think about it."

She laughed again, weakly. He looked up to see her crooked smile. She was happy to hear what he'd said, even though she didn't seem to believe her ears. They'd work on that later. "I think I should learn how to read first, don't you? I hear human weddings have an awful lot of reading. Elven weddings are more about reciting poetry."

He laughed, too, and closed what little space remained between them. "I think that I can arrange that." The Wise Man gently touched her cheek, and she pushed against it before moving in for a kiss.

\---

10th of Eluviesta

Jeremie blinked repeatedly after being, rather rudely, awoken by Aelita. She was pushing against his face. He sat up a bit, and tried to gather his thoughts. He grabbed his spectacles, and he looked at her. Her eyes were still closed, and she was curled up in a ball, hogging most of the blankets. She mumbled something.

"What are you saying?" He asked.

She was silent for a moment. "Close the curtains," She finally muttered.

The opportunity was too good to pass on. He stood, walked to the window and threw open the curtains. Aelita screamed and pulled the blankets over her head. "Good morning, ma vhenan!" He shouted, obviously enjoying himself far too much.

"I will destroy you and everything you love!" Aelita shouted back, forcing her head under her pillow.

"Mmhm, I guess you'll have to destroy yourself!"

"Augh! I hate you."


	51. Spring 6

Episode 6: the Empress' Favor

14th of Umbralis, 4:99 East

Milly had always been an early bird, unlike Maya. Father said it was because Maya was lazy that she would sleep all day if you let her, while Mother said it was because she stayed up so late. Either way, Milly knew why: Poor Maya always looked so sad and it kept her up so late, and the fact she was always forced to rise with the sun often made her sick. But Father knew that the best way to fix the 'sleep weakness' was through hard work, so Maya was always working.

But Amelia Tyron, future novelist, would not let her beloved sister work hard and never have fun! So she woke up early and snuck into her sister's bed chamber. Gently, she called her name. "Mimi. Mimi! Maya, wake up!"

Maya yelped and shot up, her hair messy and out of its usual braids. Milly always loved Maya's rosy hair, and she never understood why Mother made her hide it. She made Milly hide hers, too, of course, but Milly's hair was curly and tangled easily.

"Amelia! What are you doing?" The eight-year-old asked.

"Come on! Let's go play in the gardens!" Milly said almost too loudly.

Maya quieted her, but she got out of bed and dressed quickly. They ran down the stairs and into the garden, where the moon lilacs were closing up and the sun roses had turned towards the ever-so-distant sunlight. Milly and Maya pretended to be faeries as they leapt between the flowers, picking up dirt to sprinkle like pixie dust.

Milly had never seen Maya so happy. There was a light in her eyes she'd hidden. Maya was so happy being outside, dancing in the sun, laughing. Maybe Father was wrong. Maybe freedom would cure Aelita's sleep weakness.

But no good thing could last. "MAYA!" Father's voice bellowed from above. Maya froze and shrank. She frowned at her sister before running inside.

\---

14th of Eluviesta, 5:09 Guardian

Laura was so deep in her library that even she didn't know exactly where she was. Spread out on the large, generously lit table in front of her were what few maps of the Uncharted South her library had. All of them seemed old and none of went further than the northern most part of the territory. Still she scrutinized every one, looking for something specific. Christophe had once mentioned a city called Ngemby, but it was either too far south to be on the crude maps she possessed or it was too small to be considered noteworthy.

She yelped when Jeremie snuck up behind her. "Judging by his accent and the knowledge Vigilance has given me, Christophe is most likely from a country called Mesoaiyuttos, a desert country famed in the South for the fertile fields that are flooded by the rivers, and their sculptures." He said, his eyes glowing slightly. "However, the gods he invokes are from ancient Oupavoxeivos, or it's more modern name, Syelkimba. That's likely where Ngemby is."

She whirled around to face him. "And how would Vigilance know that?" Laura demanded.

Jeremie took a step back, raising his hands to show he was harmless. "When I'm asleep, Vigilance wanders in the Beyond, peaking into dreams and memories. He's been doing this long before I was even born, and so he knows the nuances of many cultures." With a smile, he added, "When the war is over, I'd like to take Aelita to the South. There are so many things to see there that no one from Medieuropa has seen, and Vigilance tells me that the elves there are more accepting."

The Empress sighed. "Don't get lost. I need you in court." He seemed confused so she clarified, "Who else can tell me who plans to assassinate me from three kilometers away?" Jeremie laughed. He'd been smiling so much more lately. It was nice to see but also, in some strange way, disconcerting.

"Maybe you shouldn't work so hard. Have you relaxed at all since we came back?" The Wise Man suggested.

"A little. Between trying to coordinate war efforts and fixing and growing an empire, I've got too much to do to be relaxing."

Jeremie nodded in response and a moment of pregnant silence opened between them. Just as the Fair was about to turn back to her maps though, he brought up the subject that had brought him here. "Laura, I know that you're experimenting with blood magic." Jeremie said firmly. "Are you taking precautions? What kind of demon is it?"

"I--" She seemed angry for a moment before realizing spreading falsehoods to a human lie detector was pointless. "It's a pride demon, I think."

"That's dangerous." He warned.

"You don't think I know that?" The Fair shouted. Quietly, she added, "I am so afraid of it. But I can't stop."

"It's an addiction. That's how they get you." The Wise Man said. "You should talk to Aelita. Maybe she can mentor you."

"I would love to talk to Aelita about blood magic, but she'll think that I'm trying to hurt or insult her. And I can't blame her for thinking that." She pulled her arms in. "I am so... I don't know how to approach her."

Jeremie took Laura's shoulder. His face was stony as he said, "As an equal."

\---

30th of Cassus, 5:01 Guardian

Milly knew that her first novel would be based on Maya. But what could she write? Maya only ever stayed in the house and did chores. She didn't go on adventures. She didn't seem the adventurous type.

The only solution Milly, Ace Reporter, could conceive was to ask her sister what sort of adventure she would go on. She grabbed charcoal and a roll of paper and found her sister in the kitchen. However, instead of preparing dinner, she was on the floor, crying into her hands. The side of her face was bloody, and it appeared to be swelling. "Maya!" Milly shouted, coming to her sister's aid.

"Oh, Milly, you shouldn't see me like this." Maya sobbed.

"What happened?"

"I was just asking if he'd teach me... teach me to..." She started crying harder. "Oh gods, Milly! Why am I so terrible at everything?!"

Her younger sister comforted her. She hugged her tightly and quieted her sobs. "Thank goodness I came in when I did." Milly said when the swelling went down some. When Maya asked why she'd come in, she explained.

Maya was quiet for a very long time. "I would want to turn into a bird and fly far, far away. So far that nobody would ever find me ever again."

\---

14th of Eluviesta, 5:09 Guardian

'As an equal', Jeremie had said. Laura abandoned her heavy gowns and jewelry. She let her hair down and dug out the clothes that she had worn so often when they first travelled around Lyoko. They were, however, still too fine of quality. She would come off as too 'princessy'.

She asked one of the servants who was about her size to loan her some plain clothes, and she was given a dark blue tunic and an evergreen shawl with a hood. She wore a black skirt and unadorned boots as well.

Hoping her more modest appearance would make her come across as more humble, she wandered through the castle until she found Aelita in the garden.

Judging by the stacks of books next to her, Aelita was supposed to be practicing reading, but instead she looked out over the flowers. They were all dried from the drought, and every so often Aelita would conjure water to help them. She wore a long dress, the top half black and the skirt was long and decorated with tight magenta roses.

"Can I help you?" The Outcast asked rudely.

"Yes. I mean, I hope so. But it's a really big secret." She rubbed her arms. "I need your help."

"Why? Are you trying to seduce Christophe or something?"

"Minerva's mercy, no!" Laura said with flushed cheeks. "This is... about blood magic."

Aelita stood and turned. "Blood magic?" She asked flatly. She searched Laura's face for any signs of deception, of mockery or of cruelty, but found none. Instead it was colored with a hundred shades of fear and worry. "Don't tell me that you..."

"Yes. I am." Laura took a few steps closer.

"Are you crazy? If you're discovered, you'll either be tried for corruption and executed, or even worse, create a country ruled by blood mages!"

"And that's why I need your help!" She shouted, and then calmed herself. "You kept your secret hidden for months from us, and years from many others. I need your help, Aelita, or I'm going to die, or worse." Aelita seemed conflicted, which she couldn't blame her for.

The Fair waited for a very long time as Aelita wrestled with the idea in her mind. Eventually she grew impatient.

"I'm the fucking Empress. What do you want in exchange for your help?"

"I want freedom for the slaves of Lyoko and reparations." Aelita said quickly, as if she'd blurted it out before thinking.

"I was already going to do that. You repeating it won't make it happen any faster." Laura rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Exclusive bragging rights! 'Haha, I was right, blood magic is useful' and all that." She added.

"You are not very good at this, are you." Laura rubbed her temples. "I offer... an official position in my court. Something like... Ambassador of the Elvhen to the Imperial Court, or Arcane Enchanter to the Empress, or something. A position offering real political power."

"Deal."

"You are not good at this! You could've driven your price higher!"

Aelita blushed. Laura couldn't blame the Outcast for her less than perfect negotiation skills. She'd had to fight for everything she had. She looked away, and the elven girl asked, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course."

"Will you... heal my scars? Please?"

Laura laughed. "I recall you saying something along the lines of, 'don't you touch me, Imperialist'."

The Outcast flinched. However, she recovered quickly and retorted, "I recall you saying, 'if your savage parents hadn't abandoned you, you would've known not to accept the proposal of a demon'."

"Minerva's mercy, did I sound that bad? I'm turning into my father!" The Empress shuddered.

Aelita waved her off. "No, your father was a different breed of ignorant--the kind that wouldn't try to learn." She pulled her arms in. "It's just... I'm starting my life over, Laura! And so long as I'm doing it... I just want a clean slate and..." She started to walk away. "This is stupid. Forget I said anything."

But the Empress caught her shoulder and smiled gently. She said in a voice that was almost motherly, "It'll take longer than it should because of the blood, but yes, I'll help you."

\---

20th of Eluviesta, 5:03 Guardian

The door to Maya's bedchamber was still open, and Milly quietly peeked inside. She saw her sister, her bonnet thrown lazily to the side, focusing on a flower pot. Maya held out her hands and took a deep breath in. The flower grew tremendously, budding and blossoming within a minute.

Maya let out a small cheer, and to Milly's surprise, the break in her concentration did not result in the flower wilting or shattering the pot. "Wow! You're getting really good!" Milly encouraged.

Her sister jumped. "Amelia! What are you doing?"

"I came to ask if you wanted to hang out with me today, so I can get more material for my story." Milly said.

Maya ran towards the door and held it. "Go away, Milly." She said cruelly. Maya slammed the door shut with all of her might, ice collecting on the door frame. It would later permanently damage it.

Milly was frozen for a few moments. "Okay, bye." She finally said quietly.

\---

14th of Eluviesta, 5:09 Guardian

Laura had taken them down a level in the castle, not so close to the dungeons but still rather secluded. The walls were plain stone with no ornaments that made the place look homier. There were a few dark windows and a fireplace, but still the atmosphere was cold. It seemed fitting. Aelita presented the Fair with her dagger, the one she'd taken from James Finson, and Laura couldn't help but wonder why she had kept it for all those years. Was it a reminder, or a trophy? "You should always keep a blade with you. It will act as secondary defense, and it can draw blood more quickly than your teeth or nails." She smiled briefly. "Cutting your hand or wrist is traditional, but you'll experience less pain if you cut your leg."

"Good to know." Laura said. She looked around the room, taking note of the dim fire in the hearth, and the tinted windows. "So what's lesson number one?"

"That depends. What are you looking for?" Aelita asked. When Laura didn't answer, she clarified. "I was looking for freedom. Most people are looking for power. Some think it'll make them better mages. The list goes on."

"I'm not sure what I'm looking for." She admitted.

The Outcast sighed. "Then we'll start with some things that'll make you a better healer. Blood magic can make blood transfusions easier, if they're necessary, and can sterilize open wounds, often even making them heal faster, though it leaves scars. You should also know that you can send isolated distress signals with blood magic." She sat down on the floor, stretching out. "All of this causes pain, however."

"Those seem like things doctors should know." Laura said. "People might be less afraid of them." Although the threat of pain was still frightening, she noted.

"Maybe," Aelita murmured.

\---

18th of Solis, 5:03

Milly watched as Maya and Murray were dragged away towards the Oubliette. She was so scared, but Maya was not. She was angry and hurt, and she could not tear her eyes from the Knight Templar. Milly fearfully looked at the pyre where the elven Hahren burned, but she could not keep her eyes on it.

Eva Skinner started to run after the magistrates who had arrested her friends, wanting them to either release them or take her with them. Her mother ran and grabbed her shoulders, holding her back. Father grabbed Milly and forced her to watch Edna burn, a sight she would see every night in her dreams for years to come.

\---

14th of Eluviesta, 5:09 Guardian

Aelita showed nonviolent forms of the magic. She could use it to dispel barriers and, in a strange turn of events, could use it to cleanse cursed objects but said it was so rare and difficult that it was hardly worth mentioning. She also noted that she was incapable of doing so, or she would have tried to fix Yumi's mask.

Laura was amazed that blood magic could cleanse. She thought it could only corrupt. Aelita explained that it was supposed to lure spirits towards the curse and then away, but again added she'd never accomplished it.

\---

18th of Molioris, 5:05 Guardian

Milly slowly opened the door to Maya's bedchamber. She wasn't there. She hadn't been for two whole years. The town hated the Tyron family now, for allegedly hiding an alleged blood mage. It was all allegedly. But Milly maintained Maya was not a blood mage, and if she was, she had her reasons.

The young author sat down on her sister's bed, and then fell back. "Happy name day, Maya." She muttered. She would've been thirteen years old.

Milly then began to sob uncontrollably. Oh, poor Maya! She must have hated the entire town by now, if she still lived! The young girl covered her eyes and wept into them. She was unsure of how long exactly she lay weeping in Maya's chamber but she knew that it was getting closer to dinner. Crying for so long left her hungry, and so she finally stood, straightened the blankets and left the room.

She walked closer to the kitchen and froze to listen to her parents. "...should have let her stay here. She's a disgrace. I should have let you kill her." Mother said, anger obvious in her voice. Quieter, she added, "No, I don't mean that. But..."

"We should have kept her in chains," Father said.

"She would have escaped anyway!" Mother argued. "Ugh, I was a fool to ever think a bitchborn changeling could ever be a part of this family."

This news startled Milly. Maya was a changeling? Of course she knew that she and Maya were not related by blood, anyone with eyes could see it. But Milly had always assumed her parents had adopted Maya out of the goodness of their hearts. Now she heard that Father had wanted to kill her when they found her, that she should've had a human sister?

Milly ran away and closed herself up in her chamber. She thought for a very long time. Who was this mysterious sister? Was she more like Milly than Maya was, or less? If she was, would that be a good thing or bad?

No, Amelia thought finally, it didn't matter who her blood sister was. Maya was her real sister, and she was going to either find her or die trying, that was for damn sure.

Milly grabbed a pack and shoved it full of clothes. She snuck into her parents' chamber and stole almost all of the money in the emergency jar. She folded up clothes and blankets, stashed in her notebooks and wrapped her charcoal. Then she tied a rope to the post of her bed and climbed out the window.

\---

14th of Eluviesta, 5:09 Guardian

"Using your blood as a weapon is a dangerous thing. Every drop you waste makes you weak. I prefer to use my blood only as a catalyst and then turn my foe's blood against them." Aelita said as she sliced at her hand. Fire engulfed her body. "But Hunger showed me other ways."

Laura watched intently as Aelita demonstrated a blood sword. It was capable of many different forms, such as rapier, longsword and even a Zweihänder, even though demonstrating this left her weaker. She collapsed the sword and created a ring around herself. She explained how it could be used to deflect attacks or as a weapon.

Aelita turned away and began throwing punches at the air, causing blasts of her blood to strike at the wall. One such blast actually left an indent in the stone walls.

The Outcast demonstrated a few more techniques, such and a shield and a throwing spear, before she fell to her knees and closed the wound on her hand. "Forgive me, this is exhausting." Aelita apologized.

"But it is useful." Laura said, helping her to her feet. "Does Hunger speak to you when you use blood magic?"

"Yes. And Pride will speak to you." She confirmed. "But just remember to counteract its logic. For me, I think of how happy I am with the things I have to fight desire. You must remain humble."

"You've met me, haven't you?" Laura joked. Oddly, Aelita laughed. "Come on, it's getting late. How about we go out to a tavern, to avoid having to explain to the others why we were together." She mentally added that the two reeked with the scent of blood magic, and many if not all of the people they'd eat with would notice.

"Is the chef not making your favorite foods?" The elven girl mocked. Laura rolled her eyes and helped Aelita out of the castle. Eventually the Outcast could walk well enough on her own that Laura's help was awkward and redundant.

Aelita had to admit, the Fair was being almost nice to her. It was strange and uncomfortable after everything the two had put each other through. Out of everything that had happened, it was blood that was bringing them closer.

The tavern was small, and no one recognized them, which was a blessing. They found a table in the corner. The waitress came over and greeted them. "Welcome to the Rampant Cat, my name is Veronique, what can I get for you? And don't say mead or rum. We haven't gotten a shipment of that yet, not until next week. And don't say whiskey."

"When are you getting a shipment of whiskey?" Aelita asked.

"Oh, no, we have whiskey, it just tastes terrible." The waitress said. The bartender heard this and shouted for Veronique to be quiet.

"We actually would just like something to eat." Laura said with a half-smile. The waitress seemed surprised but listed the day's specials. The two Heroines ordered and waited.

They sat in silence for a long time. It was driving her mad, so Laura said, "So. How much of what Edna taught you did you work into your... routine?" She was talking about blood magic. Aelita didn't realize that.

"Very little. Edna more or less taught me how to straight up fight, but you learn how to be more fluid and get more power from what Mamae Asha taught me." Aelita was talking about dancing. Laura didn't know that.

"Ah. I... see." Laura shifted and was quiet for a moment. "Then are you going to teach me those things?"

Aelita's cheeks turned red. "I don't see why you'd need to know the things I was taught."

"I just thought it would be useful to know how you fight, so I could incorporate it into my own fighting style."

"Wait." The Outcast furrowed her brows. "What are we talking about?"

"...Magic?"

She burst out laughing. "Oh, yes, that makes so much more sense!" The waitress returned and gruffly dropped off their meals, leaving without a word. "I thought that you were asking me about my routine at the Gypsy. For Christophe."

Now it was Laura's turn to have red cheeks. "Nononononooo! That's not it at all!" She buried her face into her hands and then shoved a forkful of food into her mouth. Aelita laughed again before eating.

Laura, trying to hide her embarrassment, finished eating long before Aelita did, and spent the free time afterwards explaining why she was sorry for insinuating that she teach her that, albeit accidentally. Aelita, on the other hand, just seemed to grow more exhausted. Eventually, she put her head down and started to sleep.

"What's wrong? Did you get drugged or something? You didn't have anything to drink..." Laura said. Aelita didn't stir, and so she examined the tavern. They were few people in it, and no one was watching them. Then she spotted the waitress. Either Veronique had gotten a haircut in the short time they'd been in the Rampant Cat, or this woman was not her.

The waitress noted that Aelita had fallen asleep and went behind the bar. She strapped on a breastplate engraved with the symbol of the magistrates. Laura threw coins onto the table and grabbed Aelita. She then ran out of the tavern.

She dragged Aelita through the dim and partially rebuilt streets of the Capital for a long time before ducking into a rubble strewn alley. Panting from the effort, she considered leaving her there for half a second before banishing the thought. Instead she glanced around the deserted alley then removed her tunic and shawl as well as Aelita's dress. She quickly switched their clothes, making sure that the hood was pulled over Aelita's head. The pink hair was a dead giveaway.

Satisfied that Aelita was adequately disguised and still feeling exhausted the Fair again dragged Aelita's limp body through the streets of the Capital. A glance back showed that she hadn't lost the magistrate and as the armored figure moved closer The Fair began to panic. Luckily, she found a crevice caused by an explosion, and she shoved Aelita into it before crawling in herself. She covered her mouth with her hand, and tried to regulate her breathing.

The magistrate walked past, but she seemed preoccupied. She looked around as Laura prayed that they went unnoticed. Aelita grunted, adjusting her position. The magistrate moved for the sound. Laura, frightened by her sudden movement, started casting a fire spell. It launched too quickly and filled the narrow street with a sharp crack and bright blue light. Blinded, deafened and disoriented by the lightning bolt, the magistrate stumbled back, and while she was awfully confused, Laura didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

She was running once again, and she quickly went through a list of places where they could hide. However, the magistrate caught up with them, grabbing the tunic that Aelita had been made to wear. Laura yelped as the Outcast was ripped from her shoulders. She turned and slashed at her foe with Aelita's dagger, cutting at her face. She then cut her own wrist, summoning the blood like Aelita had taught her--it was a more potent weapon, after all.

She created a circle of blood and threw punches. The magistrate dodged some of the blood blasts, but more than one struck at her breastplate, and one struck her leg, bringing her to her knee. Laura rushed forward and kicked the magistrate's head, knocking her out. She considered killing her, but she closed the wound and simply left her out on the street. Killing a magistrate would bring too much attention, not that, she thought gruffly, her obvious use of blood magic had made the situation any better.

Laura picked Aelita off of the ground and began to run. She didn't stop until she reached an inn, the Old Fox, and she ducked inside. She went up to the innkeeper, who was polishing glasses, and slammed three gold pieces on the counter. "Give me your most secluded room, and pretend we aren't here." She said firmly.

The innkeeper was surprised, but since average fare for a room was ten coppers, she obliged. "Kader! Bring them to the attic room!" She called to her son, who stood and led the girls upstairs. Laura gently placed Aelita on the bed, and she sent a distress signal with blood to Jeremie. When he telepathically contacted her, she simply said that that they would be spending the night at an inn and not to worry.

\---

15th of Eluviesta

Aelita stretched as she woke, and she jolted up when she didn't recognize her surroundings. She started breathing heavy until she saw Laura, asleep in the chair across the room. Aelita went through the night's happenings, and she realized she didn't remember leaving the tavern. Mamae Asha had warned her about such a thing a long time ago, but she didn't remember drinking anything, not even water. It must have been in her food, but she doubted any random person could just handle someone's food. An employee, then, she thought.

She shook her head, and realized that whatever happened to her, Laura had prevented anything else from going wrong. She also realized that Laura was wearing her dress. Aelita stood and walked over to the Empress, and she tapped her forehead. "Psst. Laura."

"Hmmm? What is it?" She murmured sleepily.

"I want my dress back. It's got roses on the skirt and it's my favorite." She whispered.

Laura curled her nose in her sleep. "Later!" She hissed as she swatted Aelita away. The Outcast giggled. She was quiet for a moment and then tapped the Fair again. "What?" She asked in an annoyed voice. "I'm tired. Leave me alone!"

"My scars. You haven't healed my scars yet." Aelita reminded her.

"Can it wait until later? I'm tired!" Laura sounded desperate. Such was the way of sleepy people, Aelita thought. She picked up Laura and carried her over to the bed. The Fair was asleep before the Outcast had a chance to tuck her in. Aelita moved to the chair Laura had fallen asleep in and started to meditate. She tried to remember the face of the waitress, but while Veronique's face was still fresh in her mind, her peripheral memories didn't show Veronique. It was someone else, but Aelita couldn't quiet picture her face.

Several hours passed before Laura woke up. "Good morning!" Aelita greeted, and then with a smirk, she added, "Or should I say good afternoon?"

"Shut up." Laura said. At first Aelita thought that their bonding had been for naught, but then she realized the command was sleepy, not rude. "You were saying something, weren't you? I can't remember."

"My scars," Aelita said.

"Oh! Right." Laura nodded as she stood. She wobbled for a moment before she caught her balance again. She was still for a moment as the dizziness faded, and then she motioned for Aelita to sit down on the bed. The Outcast did so, and she removed the tunic and shawl. Her face turned bright red.

This wasn't the first time that Laura had seen Aelita's scars. The first time was at Marsy. It was still disturbing, to see the personal effect of something that you couldn't stop. But she had to be strong. She raised her hands and wove the healing spell, slowly but surely, the scars started to fade. As they faded, Aelita grew more relaxed. This, Laura thought with a smile, could only be a good thing.

\---

Milly opened a box of journals that she'd been keeping since she left to find Maya. Her apartment was a mess, boxes everywhere and only her clothes were unpacked, though they were thrown into a corner to be dealt with later. She opened up one such journal. It was from when her journey first started. She'd written so much about wanting to return home at the beginning. She'd missed warm beds and meals. But she was determined to find her sister, and that search had brought her to Capital Lyoko.

Milly had been in the same party as Maya only a few months ago, though she didn't know it. Milly had seen her father at that party and left immediately, not wanting to get caught and dragged back to Falcon's Bridge. Still, the night had not been a total loss-she'd danced with the most handsome boy she'd ever seen. She swooned at the memory and wondered where he was now.

A knock came to her door, which Milly was wary of, since no one should have known that she was there. She grabbed her crossbow and loaded it, hiding it behind the door as she opened it. Eva Skinner stood in her doorway, dressed in a simple red plaid shirt, brown pants and leather boots. "Eva!" Milly exclaimed, gently placing the crossbow on the floor as she hugged an old friend. She looked down at her plain blue tunic and pink stockings. "I'm so sorry! Me and the place are a mess. I'd have cleaned if I'd known you were coming."

"It's okay. I only dropped by to speak to you, anyway." Eva said as she entered the room. Eva was the only person who knew of Milly's quest, and she had been sworn to secrecy.

"I can't help but feel like I'm close." Milly said after closing the door. She smiled. "I can hardly wait to see Maya. I'll bet she's more beautiful now than ever."

"She was in Falcon's Bridge a few months ago." Eva murmured as she looked around the apartment. It was obviously a temporary arrangement. There were only boxes of things and furniture that was provided by the landlord. Nothing that said 'home'. Not a single personal item, not even a piece of art on the wall. "She was travelling with some wanderers, or so I heard. No one really noteworthy."

The young girl spun around. "She was? How long ago?"

"Last I saw her, it was the 1st of Parvulis."

"Ugh! I was all the way in Cahlere." Milly groaned. "Have you seen her here? In Capital Lyoko?"

Eva smiled as she stood. "Actually," She said as she took a few steps forward. "I have. Almost chased her down, too, but she was gone before I could even say her name."

"Do you know where she was staying?"

"No, but I think she might have been travelling with one of the Empress' handmaidens." She sighed. "I don't think she'll speak to me. We ended on a tense note last time. But if you want to find her, all I ask is that you contact me soon after."

Milly took Eva's hands. "Of course, Eva. You miss her too."


	52. Spring 7

Episode 7: the Mirrored Princess

16th of Eluviesta

It was nearly an hour to midnight when Milly finished drawing her glyph. She placed her catalyst stone in the center, and she began to meditate. Slowly, she entered the Ethereal Ghost stage of her ritual. It was a nonmagical technique that required intense focus and would partially send her consciousness into the Beyond. Most of her awareness, however, remained in the mortal realm, and she was able to project her mind across a wide area. She'd honed it over the years, and her dedication to the practice allowed her to move so far away as the gates to Arlathan. But the farthest she needed to go tonight was the palace.

Milly opened her eyes. Her body looked strange in this form, her hair a wild curly mess that connected back to the catalyst stone. Her eyes glowed ever so faintly with a fire behind the hazel. She willed her body, or what constituted it, out of the glyph.

The runaway phased through the window and looked at Capital Lyoko at night. It was truly serene. But she was on a mission. Milly floated towards the castle. She ignored drunken brutes wandering home through alleyways; they could not see her and this form was incapable of manipulating the physical world.

Milly found her way into the castle and started at the very bottom-the dungeons. She highly doubted Maya was capable of such evil that the Empress herself would detain her, but she was an elf, and the Gauthier reign had been hard on the Elvhen. The runaway found no trace of her sister but did discover a mirror twice her size with no reflection. The mirror called out to her, begged her forward.

It was distressing. The mirror was speaking without a voice, without words even. The feeling was foreign, like a primal urge. It drew her closer, and yet... The words were not sinister. Not the ramblings of a trapped demon. Milly had been trained to sense them in this form, as her body lay empty and open to malicious spirits.

It was the mirror's own voice speaking to her. But she left it, afraid of its meaning.

Milly searched every room until she found a couple sleeping soundly. At first she thought nothing of it. 'Just a married couple,' she thought until a pink fluff appeared. The runaway floated in for a better view.

She nearly started crying when she recognized her. Maya was older, thinner, and obviously more experienced. Her hair was short and messy and presumably very soft. Milly reached out, and for a moment, it felt real. In fact, Maya even woke up.

Though, "woke up" might have been putting it gently. Maya shot up and started panting heavily, as if she'd been woken from a nightmare. She looked right at Milly, and for a moment the younger sister's heart felt like it stopped beating. Then she remembered that she was invisible and it sank.

Maya looked back at the man Milly assumed was her husband. She kissed him and snuggled close to him before falling back asleep. He hadn't even stirred, but judging by how silly his sleeping face looked, he had probably had a long night.

Milly sighed. At least she knew where Maya was. She looked up when the door opened to see the man that she had danced with several months ago. Yet he looked different.

He watched the couple for a moment before he looked up at the window. For a moment Milly stared at him before looking out the window herself. There was nothing abnormal outside. She looked back and saw that he was still staring. "What are you doing, you creep?" She mumbled.

"I'm the creep?" He asked, offended.

"Yes, you're the creep. You just barge into-okay, I guess I'm a creep too." Milly sighed. It took her a moment to realize he'd responded to a statement he shouldn't have heard. She froze in place.

The man's body and face changed. The whites of his eyes became blood red, and glass shards appeared all over him. He was bloodied, bruised and ready to attack as he drew a sword. In an ominous voice he said, "You aren't supposed to be in here, Amelia." He lunged at her, but she didn't move. He couldn't hurt her.

His blade glanced her cheek, and surprisingly, it filled with pain. Her hand grabbed her face and she looked at her palm, which was covered in blood. Milly was so shocked that he'd cut her that she fled back to her body almost instantaneously.

Her spirit returned with such force that she was knocked back a few feet. She jumped up and rushed for a mirror. The cut wasn't visible but the pain lingered. Milly began to hyperventilate, wondering why he's been able to see her, let alone attack her.

She thought back to the mirror. Why had it called her name?

It didn't matter. She had found Maya, and that was the purpose of her mission.

 

\---

 

17th of Eluviesta

Milly marched up to the castle gates and took a deep breath. She had prepared herself all morning. The guard, a woman about forty, her salt and pepper hair styled more nicely than a guard's hair should have been, stopped her. This was expected. "Let me pass. I must speak with Maya Tyron."

"There is no one here by that name." The guard said. "Besides, the Empress is preparing to host a small, private party. She is seeing no one who isn't on her guest list."

"What is it with the Gauthier line and parties?" Milly asked. "Doesn't the Empress know there's a war going on?"

The guard became angry. "Listen, pipsqueak. The Empress is more aware than anyone in this damn country the stakes of this war. So you'll forgive her if she throws a small party to celebrate the name day of an important ally. She has done more for the war effort in her short reign than the King could have done in ten." She muttered something else that Milly didn't quite catch. "You will respect the crown or I'll haul you into the dungeon myself."

Milly at first refused to move, but the guard threatened to poke her with the spear she carried, and she was forced to walk away and reconsider her entry plan.

As she walked along the castle wall the young runaway considered scaling it, but then considered the mirror. She had no way of accessing it, but she wanted to see it up close and in person, which meant she needed a way inside the dungeon. The guard's threat suddenly looked less intimidating and she stopped.

Just as she was considering walking back and actually letting the guard arrest her, she heard a loud crash behind her, followed by a long string of curse words. Milly turned to see an Elvhen girl from the South sitting in a bush, a large round scooter-like device spinning next to her.

The two met eyes and remained silent. "Look, as much as I appreciate the comedic value of this moment, it doesn't really suit the theme I'm going for." Milly said flatly.

"Sorry," the girl apologized. "I just really have to speak to my former clan mate Aelita." She pushed herself out of the bush. "My name is Tamiya Diop of Clan Aloten, born to Sabrae."

"Long name. Milly Tyron," she started, stopping at the muffled sounds of alarmed shouting that made it over the palace walls. Her voice turned urgent, "Listen, I'd love to stay and chat and I'd love to ask you about that thing," Here she pointed at the scooter. "But unless all we want to see is the dungeon, we need to get out of here."

Tamiya nodded and hurriedly gathered her belongings while Milly looked nervously in the direction she had come, waiting for the armored footsteps that were surely coming. "Hurry up," she urged the elven girl who was just righting the hovering scooter thing.

"Hop on," Taniya said after stepping onto the device. She pushed the Overwing forward and squeezed a lever under one of the handlebars then angled the nose up, beginning to climb skyward.

"What are you doing!" Milly cried, "Archers man the towers, they'll shoot us down."

She shoved the nose back down, giving up the little altitude she had gained. "That would explain why I fell out of the sky."

Milly could do little more than shake her head at that. Tamiya flew on through the silence, looking back to ensure that they weren't being chased, not that foot soldiers had a chance of keeping up. Once she was certain they were far enough she set the craft down in a deserted city square. As both girls disembarked Tamiya turned towards Milly and offered her hand. "Thanks for the help back there. Sorry to interrupt whatever business you had though."

Milly shook the elf's outstretched hand and replied, "not a problem. But now I need a way into the castle to meet with my sister. I've been looking for her for years."

"Oh, wait! A friend of Aelita has a brother... or maybe a son? I don't really know but maybe if we could contact him he could bring us in as his friends!" Tamiya suggested.

"How would we do that?"

"I have a portable Eluvian that can contact the larger one that the Empress has." Tamiya said, pulling her backpack off.

Milly had only met a few of the wilder elves during her travels and they were always reluctant to speak to humans. She had once believed that Maya had joined a different clan after the one near Falcon's Bridge had been destroyed. But obviously she was wrong about that, if she was in a human city married to a human man.

Tamiya let out a disgruntled sigh that brought Milly back to reality. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's broken." She said, showing the small hand mirror to the runaway. "It must have been damaged when I fell... I guess I'm just lucky that didn't kill us all." The mirror was whispering, as if it were in pain. Milly felt her fingers twitch. She asked to hold it, but the Elvhen girl rejected her request politely. "Humans don't know how to operate such advanced magic."

Tamiya was right, of course. Milly had never seen an Eluvian before. She couldn't know how to operate one. The Elvhen girl began weaving a spell to repair it, but still it called out her name... Milly gently touched Tamiya's shoulder. The magic surged, and the crack in the mirror shrank. The mage was startled and confused, but Milly smiled briefly. "Let's go to my apartment. We probably shouldn't do this out in the open." Tamiya agreed and gathered her things.

As Tamiya tried to create the surge to completely repair the mirror, Milly pulled the mirror out of the bedroom and brought it into the common area. She placed it in the glyph, and then subtly tried to convince Tamiya to enter it as well.

Milly focused on the catalyst stone as the oblivious mage continued her work. The runaway closed her eyes and tried to focus on the whimpering of the mirror. It begged her for something, and she mentally reached out.

The magic within the glass spiraled around her fingers. It looked like stars, but they wiggled and jumped like small children. She saw Tamiya panic as she looked at the magicless mirror, and Milly pointed at the one from the bedroom.

The magic flew away, colliding with the glass. The stars spread out, spiraling around and creating beautiful music. It whispered a song to her. She finally understood.

"Fen'harel enansal," She said proudly. The stars still sparkled, but the transfer was complete. They parted, releasing an ethereal wind. Milly opened her eyes to reality.

"What did you do?!" Tamiya demanded, but she sounded more impressed than angry. They stared at the mirror.

"I don't know. It was in pain so I found it a new home." Milly murmured.

"What?" She was silent for a long time after that. "I've heard of this... Mari'linen..."

"It called me Princess..."

"That's not fair! You're not even elven!" Tamiya said with her arms folded across her chest. "If anyone should have been the next Bloody Mari, it should have been m-Mamae. My mother." Both girls knew that she was jealous, but at this point Milly couldn't care less about ancient Elvhen prophecy.

She touched the mirror. It felt like the mirror was trying to hug her, like a long lost friend. "Andaran atish'an," She muttered. The Eluvian rejoiced at her voice. "Show me Maya Tyron." But the Eluvian, desperate to please, begged her to enter, to experience the memories of the mirrors and not just see them. So she struck a deal; the mirror would show the memories and lead the girls to the palace.

The gates of the Eluvian were thrown open. "Are you still jealous or do you want to go on an adventure?"

Tamiya looked at the human girl. She looked beautiful, her black hair and dark skin intensely highlighted by the magic. Her mouth twisted from a pout to a cautious smile as she offered her hand. Milly took it graciously.

 

\---

 

The first memory was Maya's bedroom. It was snowing outside, and the changeling, only about three or four, watched it fall. Judging by the broom at her feet, Maya was supposed to be cleaning. Instead, she looked at the mirror. She looked sad and excited at the same time.

The bedroom door opened. "Maya, come here." Her father said sternly. Maya rushed toward him. "There's a baby in the house now. You can't slack off on your cleaning or Amelia might get sick. You don't want that now, do you?"

"No, sir." Maya said quietly.

The second memory began with Maya cleaning the mirrors in the house. Her parents were gone and they wouldn't be back for a long time. A crack of thunder came from outside and Milly started crying, scared of the sound. Maya dropped her cleaning supplies, and the memory became fuzzy until the young girl reentered the room. She paced with the child, trying to calm her down.

Maya looked at the front door. She pushed Milly's red locks underneath the bonnet and started to sing. It was a song she had heard in her dreams, reminiscent of one she had heard long ago.

"I hear your voice on the wind.

And I hear you call out my name.

Listen my child, you say to me.

I am the voice of your history.

Be not afraid, come follow me.

Answer my call and I'll set you

Free!"

Milly quieted, and Maya smiled. She heard her parents approaching and quickly ran to put the baby back in the crib.

The third memory was much farther into the future. The changeling lay restlessly in her bed, unable to get comfortable. She jolted when the thunder cracked and rain pounded against her window.

As the storm raged on, Milly pushed open the door to Maya's bedroom. "Maya? I can't sleep. Can I lay down with you?" The two-year-old asked.

Maya was quiet for a long time. "Yes, Milly. Come here." The toddler ran towards Maya's bed and crawled under the covers.

After that, Milly remembered the scenes. Yet in her mind they were different. Milly had never thought Maya had changed until after the elves came to Falcon's Bridge, but subtlety she had changed before that. She was quieter, sadder, and questions Milly remembered being given sad but honest answers to were in reality met with cutting criticism and annoyance.

Of course, knowing now what her sister had gone through it made sense that Maya was sullen and jaded. But it made Milly question her intentions. Was she seeking Maya to find her sister and be reunited with her, or was she seeking resolution?

Many memories passed before one Milly could not place was shown. Maya entered an aravel with Edna, the Hahren of the Aloten. "My time in the Garden has reached its end. Carry my staff now, Aelita Durgenbora, for you will take my place as Hahren." She offered the staff on her back the changeling.

Aelita? That was who Tamiya was looking for! Maya and Aelita were the same person? She refused. "No! You will survive! I am not ready!"

Edna took her tiny hands and placed them on the staff. "Take Erahalam. The bond is yours now. Be wise, da'len, and do whatever it takes to survive."

"But-" Maya argued.

"Hush! Don't disobey me, da'len." The Hahren hissed. Maya grew nervous. "Bad things are coming. Have courage." She said more gently.

Milly frowned deeply. "Maya is Aelita? She... changed her name? She didn't tell me that..."

"Maybe it was too dangerous for her to tell anyone." Tamiya offered. The novelist agreed silently. After all, Maya's connections to the Aloten had been what sparked what she'd dubbed the Falcon's Descent.

 

\---

 

A man dressed in intimidating leather armor pushed Maya into a tiny hut where a tall woman who was dressed beautifully waited. She rather roughly removed Maya's dirty, ragged clothes and pushed her into the stool. The woman played with Maya's hair, bouncing it in her hands, ignoring the sticks and twigs. "You have beautiful hair," The woman said flatly.

"Thank you," Maya replied weakly, her voice shaky. The woman moved behind her, and she held Maya's long hair over her head. She took a pair of scissors to it, and the changeling watched in horror as her hair fell, now not even reaching her ears. Her hands jumped up to her mouth, and the woman began to shave what little remained of her hair off with a razor. It fell in clumps to the floor, and when the woman finally finished, the elf rubbed her now bare scalp.

The woman pushed Maya off of the stool and threw a dirty tunic into her hands. "Go on. Get to work."

Maya looked up at her in confusion. "I don't know where I'm supposed to go." She pulled the dirty tunic over her head.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Go find Mirianye! Go on!"

 

\---

 

An elven woman called Maya into a hut. She seemed sad, but after the last memory, Milly didn't find this very strange. She took Maya's shoulders and spoke carefully. "Aelita… you know as well as I do that you will not survive much longer if you stay here." She tried to protest, but the woman quieted her. "I don't want you to die, sweet thing. It's always sad when a young person like you dies in a place like this. Please, child, don't fight me on this. You do not want to die."

Maya hung her head. The woman handed Aelita clothes, a bikini-like shirt, a long blue glove to cover her vallaslin, and a skirt that wrapped around her legs. Then she slid a gold bracelet onto her arm and wrist, tied a black choker around her neck and pulled a necklace made of red and blue beads over her head.

She grabbed the paint off of the desk next to the stool Maya sat on. She spun her brush in the stuff and painted her eyes and lips. Finally she dabbed a bit of perfume under her chin and held her chin in her hand. "You look beautiful."

She helped Maya up, and she turned her around so she could look at herself in the mirror. Milly started to shake when she watched the wave of realization hit her. She looked up at the woman and asked with desperation in her voice, "Mamae Asha, what do I do?"

"Just be nice to the gentlemen, 'Lita. They'll be nice to you."

There was a lapse in the memory, as if it was responding to Milly's sadness and shame. "Oh, gods! Maya... Poor Maya!" She sobbed.

Tamiya took her shoulders. "Oh, Milly, don't cry." The next memory was already prepared. Maya was smiling. She was running her fingers through the hair that was growing back, slowly but surely. "Look, she's happy now!"

Milly looked up. It was true, her sister looked happy. As happy as she could, at least. Sadness still lingered in her eyes. The door opened and she turned. Milly actually recognized the man who entered-James Finson. They'd met in a town about two hundred kilometers north of where this memory took place, and about the same timeframe, but Milly couldn't have known that.

Maya's happy expression vanished. She stood and backed against the wall. "Please, no." The novelist could feel her heart breaking, and yet she couldn't stop. It was as if she had stomped on the pieces of her own heart.

The changeling danced around him for a while, trying to get him to lose interest, or perhaps trying to gain the upper hand. She squirmed away from him every chance that she got. But unfortunately Finson eventually grew tired of it, grabbed her and forced her into the bed.

Milly grabbed her head and fell to her knees once more. "NO!" She screamed, and the memory fractured. "I don't want to see this! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS!" She was sobbing uncontrollably as she wondered if knowing was worth the suffering.

The memory faded again. Maya was now pushing her hair into a wig cap and fixing a red wig to her head, her breasts bound. A human woman with long blonde hair tied back into a low ponytail hugged her from the side. "What's cooking, good looking?" The human asked with a light kiss on the cheek.

"Creator's blood, Anaïs, but you are terrible!" Maya laughed. She looked at the human, gently touching their hands. It was a loving gesture, but something about it felt reserved. "What manner of unspeakable evil have you got planned for us today?"

"Oh, Tathas! You are such a tease!" The woman, Anaïs, laughed. Tathas now, was it? She walked over to the door. "You know very well that I love to speak of it!" The two girls laughed as Maya grabbed a large brown backpack. "Come now. Nobles won't rob themselves."

"But they will rob us!" Maya called out as the memory faded again.

 

\---

 

Maya caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she entered the room of a noblewoman in the next memory. "Miss Elisabeth?" She called out.

A dark haired noble in her undergarments appeared from behind a Nihonjin style screen. "Oh, are you a new slave? Thank the gods. Tell me, I'm to meet my future husband today and I need to know which of these goes better with my eyes!" She pulled out three pretentious dresses, one violet, one pink and one yellow.

Maya looked confused for a moment. "Pink never goes out of style." She reasoned.

Miss Elisabeth smiled. "You are absolutely right."

And it faded. Now no one could be seen, but voices could be heard, though she could only barely make it out. "So, when do we find this treasure you promised, and how do you know that it is still here?" A young man's voice asked.

"Well, the door was shut, there's that," Maya said, "Although the treasure can't be too much farther, I doubt it has any real value to anyone other than the People."

"Still, this is a good chance to learn something." The young man said. A secret wall opened. The young man, whom Milly recognized as Maya's husband, spotted the mirror that held the memory. His eyes moved to the skeleton of a person who had died in his armor and with his blade. "Gods above. This man died to protect these things," He said as he approached it.

Maya nodded sadly. "Many died here, in case the shemlen broke our defenses and tried to steal our artifacts. The ultimate humiliation would have been to have died at the hands of something you created." She explained. She approached the skeleton and sang a song to it.

The young man stood and searched the room. "Do you know what any of these things are?" He asked.

"Some of them, yes. The mirror is called an Eluvian. Every clan has one, and a person who maintains it." She cringed. "You don't want to be around a broken Eluvian. Actually, you'd better avoid that one, just in case it's passed its use-by date. Everything else here, I don't know. I've never heard of these things. Well, except the coins, but those are self-explanatory."

The couple rummaged through the old items. Maya's husband found a gauntlet that opened into a sword, which he slid on his arm. "The elves seemed really advanced, contrary to our stories. The humans say that your people were savages."

"They still say that." She said flatly.

And as it faded for the last time, Milly could feel her heart aching still. She couldn't take much more. Maya brushed her hair, and she pushed it out of her face. She was dressed in finery, much too fancy for the rags she'd been shown in earlier memories. "Don't freak out," Her husband said as he approached her from behind. She smiled as he tied a necklace around her. They were small beads of jade, and she obviously loved it.

"I must have done something good to meet you, ma vhenan." She turned so she could kiss him. It lacked the reservation that the kiss she'd given Anaïs had. He wrapped his arms around her, and they were still for a while.

Maya looked at his hand, and Milly saw how much it looked like tree roots. "Does it trouble you?" She asked.

"Not so much anymore. It's useful too." He said. "Besides, it reminds me of you."

"Jeremie, stop. You're making me blush." She teased him.

He offered her his arm. "Let's get a move on. Laura won't hold the party until we get there."

"Believe me when I say that the only thing we've missed out on is Emily's pre-drinking." Maya joked.

Party? Maya realized that what they were seeing was a recent memory. Maya had been in front of a mirror only hours ago, at the castle! She was in too much of a hurry for proper emotions to spread on her face. She severed the memories and demanded the Eluvian take them to the castle. She dragged Tamiya through the glass, ignoring her pleas for a moment to rest.

The castle Eluvian was locked in a cell, but Milly always carried a full set of lock picks. Her arms and hands were small, so she easily reached through the bars. While not being able to see what she was doing was a hindrance, she opened it with little trouble, and forced the gate open. Tamiya, panicking, chased after her.

"Maya! Maya!" Milly called through the halls. She attracted the attention of many guards, who all tried to capture her. She punched one in the face and ignored the others.

Eventually she came to the ballroom. There actually weren't many people inside, only about thirty or so. The guard wasn't lying when she said it was a small party. She scanned the faces in the crowd.

Maya stood across the room with her husband. They laughed with their friends. "Maya!" Milly shouted for the last time.

The changeling, confusion written on her face, looked over at her sister. Shock spread across her face, and she dropped the glass she held.

"Milly?" She asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Aelita sings to Milly is the first verse from 'the Voice' by Celtic Women.


	53. Spring 8

Episode 8: the Sisters Reunited

27th of Matrinalis, 4:98 East

"Mimi, will you read me a story?" Milly asked, poking her head inside her older sister's bedroom. She was three years old now, curious about the world, and her first true memories were beginning to form. Milly saw Maya staring out her window, bonnet tossed aside. Her ears were shown blatantly, the first time Milly could see them and understand that they were different than her own. She rubbed her ears. Yes, they were small and round. "Mimi, why do your ears look weird?"

"Milly!" Maya exclaimed. She scrambled for her bonnet. Her sister was quiet for a long time. Maya was still too young to understand why she was different, only that she was and that she was hated for it. "Milly, you must learn to knock. It's rude to barge in on people." She stood. "Did you need something?"

"Will you read to me?" She asked.

"No, Milly. I can't. I'm sorry."

\---

17th of Eluviesta, 5:09 Guardian

"It seems weird that Laura would hold a party just to celebrate my birthday," Christophe said as he dug through Emily's jewelry box. He was not ashamed to admit that they shared earrings. Once, a drunken man had insulted him in this way and Christophe began the largest bar fight in the pub's history; albeit accidentally and in a relatively new pub.

"It's called a name day in the north, Christophe." Emily said as she braided her hair. She looked in her mirror as she tried on each of her hats. "But she's doing it because she loves you!" The pirate queen teased as she threw a rejected hat onto her bed.

The quartermaster laughed shyly. "Come off it." He grabbed a feathered hat taken from a rival captain's corpse before it reached the nearby gimbaled candle.

"Well, maybe Jeremie has her convinced you're royalty or something."

"And why would he have her think that?"

Emily batted her eyelashes. "Because you're the king of my heart!" She mocked him openly and mercilessly.

"Stop it." Christophe said firmly as she cackled. The door opened, revealing Ulrich behind it. The quartermaster smiled at his captain before leaving with a few golden earrings.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company." Ulrich said as he closed the door behind Christophe. "I just wanted to catch you before the party started." He approached her cautiously. Emily noted that he looked tired, as if he hadn't slept. She put her admiral hat down and walked closer to him.

"Well, that was good planning. I'll probably be drunk when the party starts," she joked with ease. He smiled, and though it didn't seem forced, he was obviously uncomfortable. "Are you okay, Ulrich?"

He started to pace. "I can't stop thinking about you." He said, causing his face to turn pink in embarrassment. She was blushing too. She grabbed her braid and started stroking it. Then she dropped it, only to start unbraiding it as she began nervously stroking her hair once more. Ulrich was obviously conflicted, and she knew from his statement that she was part of it, but that had never ended well for her.

Emily thought back to the last man who couldn't stop thinking about her. He'd been a dwarf, and though exiled, he'd done well for himself. He sold high quality dwarven crafts, direct from... where was is? Orcasimiehr? No, she thought with a deep frown, that wasn't a real place. Omashu? No, that was in Zhounghuo. It started with an 'o'!

She realized that she was ignoring him now. But when she tuned back in, it seemed she'd only missed more pacing. She watched him for a while, her head turning to follow him. Suddenly he spoke, never breaking his stride. "I know this sounds weird, but I actually have been considering your request that I join your crew."

Emily couldn't speak for a while. "Oh! That's..." She paused. "Good. Have you decided yet?"

"No. But only because..." It was his turn again to be silent. Gods, she hated long silences! She'd never liked them. "Emily..." He took a few steps closer and took one of her hands. She blushed. "That's not why I'm here."

Her face was burning. Could he tell? His face looked pink too. She shifted her fingers, tangling them with his. "I see." She said as calmly as she could. Her voice wavered between the words. Why was she so nervous, she asked herself as she stood to meet his eyes on his level.

He laughed. "I've never done anything like this before." Ulrich took a step closer. They were so close now. Emily could feel her training kicking in. Not yet, she told herself. There was nervous laughter. "Can I kiss you?" He asked.

It was endearing in an awkward way. "Yes you can," she said, pulling him closer. They kissed for a long time, and it felt good. It had been a long time since Emily had kissed someone and it had felt good. She wondered now if she ever had. The kiss broke too soon, but Ulrich was smiling. They kissed again, more passionately. Emily wrapped her arms around him. After the second kiss broke, he wasn't smiling anymore. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm sorry. There's no way I can do this and not be the asshole." Ulrich said. The conflict was back, and so was that feeling in her. It was that feeling of unimportance. That feeling of dread when a favored client went back home to his family. Knowing that what he was doing was better for him, but wanting more and being unable to voice it. She took a pained step backwards, letting her hands fall back to her side.

"It's Yumi, isn't it?" She asked. He seemed startled that she knew. "No, I understand. There's history, she's the one, you need her..."

"No, it isn't... like that." Ulrich said. "Please, don't think that you're... Don't think you aren't important to me, or that you're my second choice because it isn't like that."

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Ulrich. I understand." She said, walking away from him. She ran her fingers through her dark hair. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him move towards her before retracting the motion, so she stopped.

He sighed. "No, you deserve better than me just leaving." The Mercenary sat down on the trunk at the end of her bed. "When Yumi and I... decided not to be a couple, it ended on a tense note. And not a definite one. I feel like I'm moving on and if Dhaune were still alive then I don't think I'd be so fucking conflicted."

"But she's dead and now..." Emily began.

"Now she's dead and I need to... I need to see." He said. "I need to know that if we start this it isn't because I want you to replace her, or because she is unavailable." Emily wasn't expecting that, and Ulrich obviously knew it. "You deserve someone who will give their undivided attention to you. I want a chance... to see."

Emily didn't seem happy. He couldn't blame her, because there were a lot of circumstances stacked against her. "Just promise me that if you and Yumi end up together... you'll still consider joining my crew. I still need you."

He smiled at her. "Anything for you, captain." The smile vanished. He was still sitting on her bed, his hands limply between his knees. The Mercenary seemed so sad, like his loyalties were torn. He likely hadn't spoken to anyone about this. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Someone was going to leave this arrangement broken hearted. And quietly, her heart full of shame, she for the first time hoped it wasn't her.

\---

During the party Ulrich stood patiently by the wall, waiting for Yumi to enter the ballroom. He shot Aelita and Odd encouraging smiles in the meantime, and the Scout responded with two thumbs up.

He looked at the Colonist when she finally entered with her brother. She wore a flowery yukata, while Hiroki wore a white burial kimono. Yumi glared at her younger brother and guided him away from the entranceway with a subtle harshness that was uncharacteristic. She spotted Ulrich, who smiled at her before pointing at her brother. She pulled Hiroki as she walked over to the mercenary. "He's wearing a burial kimono because he thinks that it's funny since we're technically dead." Yumi sighed. She focused on her brother. "And he's wrong!" She shouted at him.

"In his defense, it's a little funny." Ulrich shrugged. She frowned at him.

Her frown grew from disapproving to concerned. "You look troubled." Hiroki saw that his sister's attention was entirely focused on Ulrich now and decided to make his getaway, disappearing into the guests when Ulrich started talking.

"I am. About a lot of things." He sighed. "I... haven't slept since Laura and I walked through the Eluvian. I feel like I'm being powered by... something otherworldly." The Mercenary sighed. "Last night I saw that girl from the ball, Amelia, spying on Aelita and Jeremie. I think she might be working with the woman who attacked Laura and Aelita in the tavern."

"But we don't know who that woman is!" Yumi exclaimed. "And none of the guards reported anything unusual last night... Laura would have told us!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" He snapped, startling her. "But she didn't seem real. I attacked her, managed to cut her, even. But--"

"You attacked a fourteen-year-old girl?!" Yumi shouted. The nearby guests all stared at them, judging looks from drunken eyes. "Let's go someplace a bit more private, shall we?" The Colonist suggested firmly.

They walked together in silence until they reached a small sitting room. Yumi sat down on the ottoman, and dust floated up. No one had used this room in a long time. Ulrich looked at the collection of scrolls on the shelves. "Whatever Amelia did, she was able to get in and out without attracting attention. She acted like I wasn't supposed to be able to see her, too..." He said.

"Maybe... a cursed relic like the Masque?" She suggested. She looked to her pale, clawed hands. "Maybe that granted her teleportation and invisibility?"

"She wasn't wearing one that I could see." Ulrich pulled a book of the shelf. It was titled 'Maria the Bloodied, Last Queen of Elvhenan'. A real Elvhen Queen, yes, but this was very clearly a propaganda piece. Her armor was impractical for front line fighting as the copious amount of blood on her suggested. In one hand, she held a sword that, honestly, should have been held with two hands, and in the other was a cracked mirror. Her mouth had been sewn shut. "Maybe it was magic."

"Maybe, but if what you're telling me is true, then you shouldn't have been able to see her. She would have been forcing her avatar into the physical world, invisible to all but mages." There was a long period of silence as the Mercenary considered telling her of the glass stuck in his skin. She stood and moved closer to him.

They exchanged a few words. Meaningless things to fill the void. Subtle hints. Suddenly, Ulrich asked to kiss her. It was a quick awkward request to which she agreed. The kiss, too, was short and awkward. He pulled away before she could. "Dammit!" He cursed as he started to storm out of the room.

"What?" Yumi asked the air. She turned and chased after him. "Ulrich, wait! What's wrong?"  
"There's nothing..." He started. "I don't..." There were no words. No amount of apologies that made his inadequate words any less crushing. "It's been so long and I think... I think I'm moving on... over you. And there's nothing... right about that, everything is weird, and... I'm really sorry." Yet he found it hard to break himself from her eyes.

Yumi looked like she was about to get angry when her face changed to shock. "Come on. Someone just said the name Maya." This was enough to snap Ulrich out of his self-pitying state.

\---

Aelita stood near Emily, who explained to her what Ulrich had said. Then the captain waited, as if searching the Outcast for advice. Normally Aelita would talk about how she just wanted her friends to be happy, but if Ulrich and Emily started dating, then Yumi would be sad. The opposite was also true. So she stood there silently, a permanent and awkward grimace on her face. Emily frowned deeply before drinking more wine.

"I'm sorry," Aelita muttered, unable to meet her friend's eyes. She glanced around and then excused herself to join up with Odd. The Scout swished his wine in his goblet around sadly. "Not having fun?" She asked.

"I worry what will happen if I drink. Will I lose control again?" He asked. Looking wistfully at the wine, he sighed and put it down. "Where's lover boy?"

"Laura needed him to search the room for assassins. He promised he'd be back soon." Aelita said. The two spotted Ulrich across the room. They smiled at him. "Worried about the wolf?"

"I've beaten it into a bloody pulp every night in my dreams. I wake up too tired to move." He whined. "And I still feel it controlling me!"  
"Have you spoken to Patrick? Isn't he coming into the city?" She asked as her boyfriend joined them.

"No. I want control of the wolf. I've controlled it before and I know I can do it again." He said with a smile. "It won't be easy but I'm up for anything!"

Jeremie entered the conversation at this point. "I think that admitting you have complex emotions, not just primal, might be the first step. The wolf only lets you express joy and anger, correct? But there's fear and sadness, too." He smiled, as if to make his suggestion seem less invasive, "and since Patrick seems to have a way of bringing out your emotions, it isn't such a bad idea to speak with him again."

The Scout blinked. "How did you...?"

"I know everything," Jeremie joked as Laura and William joined them.

"It's annoying, isn't it?" Laura said with a smile. The group laughed. "Has anyone seen Ulrich and Yumi?"

"They went into some old library. Who knows?" William shrugged. All four Heroes looked at Jeremie. He blushed.

"It's about their relationship." He said. "They're angry." This quieted the group, leaving them tense, still and silent. Odd, to break it, offered a joke, and it went over rather well. They all laughed.

"Maya!" A voice shouted suddenly from across the room.

Aelita's face twisted in confusion. She looked around before spotting a young human girl with strawberry-colored hair standing next to Tamiya. Aelita's eyes widened. "Milly?" She asked.

The world grew sharper, like every corner was a knife. Her chest grew tight and her breaths grew closer. Her thoughts didn't quite piece together cohesively.

"Maya, I've been lokinog for you for yares!" Milly said.

"What?" She asked, quietly.

"Oh, don't worry!" Milly said. "The Eluvian sowehd me what you went through! I uanndrestd!"  
"I don't..." She shook her head.

Jeremie put his hand on her shoulder and she stared at it. "Laura, William, get Odd out of here." He ordered. They obliged, and when they passed through her field of vision, they looked like strange blobs. "Alitea, are you oaky? Do you need to sit dwon? Sluhod I hvae Mlily ecrosetd out of the blroalom?"

She grew more distressed with each word. "I can't..."

Milly caught her arm. Her touch felt like sludge caked on her arm. "I konw you uesd to be a savle! I konw aoubt the pian and sfufrineg you wnet tuorghh!"

She yanked her arm away. "Stay back! Don't touch me!"

"Maya peasle! Hlep me hlep you! I need you, Maya!"

I need you, Maya. I need you, Maya. I need you, Maya.

The words didn't make sense. She went over them. Over and over, a hundred times in a second. No. No no no! This couldn't be happening, she thought as her braids rested on her chest, as she shrank down.

Milly was clearer now, young with dirt on her feet. Hair wet from Auntie Carra's pond. She wasn't supposed to go there, not since Roderick died. 'I need you, Maya.'

She was even younger now. Boys had been bullying her so she threw stones at them. A good shot for only being five. 'I need you, Maya.'

Younger again. Just learning to speak now. Nightmares and loneliness creep in near midnight. She can't sleep alone. 'I need you, Maya.'

Jeremie's voice breaks silence. "Alitea, you look vrey plae. Do you need to sit dwon?" She stared at him. Unable to speak, she ran. "Aelita!" He shouted after her.

\---

Ulrich spotted Milly as Aelita ran. Yumi watched him run towards her, and she saw Emily run towards him. Milly went to chase after Aelita but was cut off by the two. Ulrich took three steps forward before he was close enough to lift her up by her collar. His face warped like it had during the night. "You shouldn't be here, Amelia." He said sternly.

Her tunic ripped, and she fell to the floor. Jeremie stuck his arm out to keep Ulrich from chasing her as she scurried behind Tamiya for protection. The Wise Man motioned for Yumi to chase Aelita.

Emily reached into her shirt and revealed the two daggers she had stored there. She moved around Jeremie, much to his chagrin. "Hello, naughty children."

"Emily, don't hurt them. They're just kids!" Jeremie ordered.

"Oh, but I came dressed to kill!" Emily joked as she looked from the Wise Man back to the two young girls.

Tamiya took a few steps back, Milly still cowering behind her. "When I count to three, you throw open a portal," Tamiya whispered.

"I don't know how to do that!" Milly panicked.

Tamiya concentrated and took more steps back. "One..." She lifted Milly onto her back. "Two..." She shapeshifted into a saber toothed cheetah, a predator native to the South. "Three!" She growled with her last elven breath. Milly threw forward one of her hands, creating a circular mirror that reflected nothing. Tamiya jumped through it, and the mirror disappeared.

"Dammit!" Ulrich shouted. He tried to run, but Jeremie caught his finery. The Mercenary flashed his mirror shard face at him, but the Wise Man stood firm, his eyes glowing blue. "Emily, go!" He shouted.

The pirate queen dashed for the hallway, but just as she passed Jeremie, he caught her clothes. Emily tried to fight him, but like Ulrich, eventually gave up. She looked at her potential love interest and asked, "Do you like dark humor?"

"Only in the form of knock-knock jokes."

\---

Tamiya took her mortal form again, breathing heavily. She fell to her knees, and Milly stood, checking to see if the elven girl was alright. Tamiya looked over her shoulders. "I don't think we were followed, but I think the vampire is ahead of us."

"I don't get it. Why would Maya run from me?" Milly wondered.

The elf frowned deeply. "Maybe, for one thing, you keep calling her Maya!"

"But that's her name, what else would--"

"AELITA!" Tamiya shouted. "Literally everyone calls her that except for you! And let's not forget that the lives of changelings are almost always shit!"

Now Milly frowned. "I didn't contribute to that! Not intentionally! I'm younger than her!"

"You are literally a walking reminder of every shitty thing your hometown ever did to her! You were the youngest, the baby, the favored child! You got all the love while she was regarded a murderer--a baby, with no whim other than necessity, had killed the true Maya in their eyes!" It sounded personal.

"Tamiya... You sound offended."

The anger in her eyes was fading. "We all have our challenges." She said as she wiped her eye. Milly realized that Tamiya, too, had been a changeling... But, she thought with a pout, that didn't explain why she needed to see her sister. "We should hurry. Edna says that Aelita isn't mentally stable."

"Are you calling my sister crazy?" Milly demanded.

"She's not really your sister!" Tamiya pointed out, "And I'm only repeating what I've heard."

\---

Tathas was finding it hard to stand up and she didn't really know how she felt anymore. It was like fear, anger and sadness existed as a strange miasma, and she was never truly in it but only around it. What's worse, she couldn't really remember who she was.

Maya fell to her knees, ripping the tights she wore under her finery. Her skin was left unscathed, however. She pulled herself up only to fall again before reaching the next flight of stairs. Her legs felt like noodles attached to a heavy piece of fruit for feet. What had happened to her shoes?

Aelita finally managed to reach the top of the tower, surprising the guards. They considered telling her to leave, but Empress Laura had told them never to bother her. Especially not, they figured, when she looked like she was ready to either burst out into a fit of anger or tears.  
She fell again, sobbing into hands that felt too rough, two volcanic rocks hiding bones too brittle to withstand it.

Why was Milly here, she wondered? Why had meeting her baby sister--if she'd been speaking, that word would have caught in her throat--bringing out such a destructive reaction, when Tyron had caused only fear? And then it dawned on her.

No one had ever made Aelita feel so isolated as Milly. Tyron and Eleanor hated her, and truth be told she'd hated them too, but Milly loved her. However, she was all too aware that they were completely different. A thousand probing questions, hundreds of hours spent being interrogated, diagrammed and analyzed. Maya knew Milly loved her in her heart of hearts, but more often than not, she felt like she was viewed like fodder for a story instead of family.

"Aelita!" Yumi called out. Was that the name she was using? She couldn't remember. The Colonist grabbed the Outcast's shoulders, and she looked over her. She then hugged the elven girl, cold skin but motherly love. Aelita was confused at first but eventually hugged Yumi, too. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know... I don't even feel real right now, I don't have the capacity to know what 'okay' is." She said, breaking the hug to rub the goosebumps from her arms.

"You can't keep running away. You're scaring us. We're worried." Yumi said.

"Running is all I've ever known." Aelita murmured. This made the vampire groan deeply.  
They both turned when Milly and Tamiya entered the room. "Ma-Aelita!" Milly called out. "Please, don't run away again!"

"Milly, you shouldn't be here!" Tathas said firmly. Was that her name? She couldn't even remember what Yumi had called her not two minutes earlier.

"No! I'm not leaving!" She protested. "I've spent too long trying to find you to give up now! Not when I've seen you!"

"I... I can't deal with you right now, Amelia."

"You don't have to deal, you just have to listen." Milly took five steps forward. It was too close; Maya took three steps back. She was pressed against the wall, her breathing still uneasy. "I'm sorry for what you went through. I didn't know you'd been captured by slavers, or I would have tried to find you sooner."

"Why? To drag me back to Falcon's Bridge, so I could rot in the Oubliette?"

"No!" Milly said, shaking her head and hands. "To set you free! So we could be together!"

"I freed myself! I don't need your help!"

"I know! That's why I want to be with you!" Amelia took another step forward. Aelita's hand slid against the wall towards the opening. Her fingers were twitching.

"Stay back!" She shouted.

The young girl seemed sad but obliged. "Why can't you see that I just want to be with you?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter." Yumi stepped in, taking Aelita's hand and rubbing the fingers until they stopped twitching.

Tamiya pushed Milly aside. "Aelita, I lied when I gave you your staff. I stole it from Edna, but she thinks you broke your word. She's coming for it, and you."

"What? Why?" The Colonist asked.

"The punishment for breaking a promise under vir sulevanan is typically exile from the clan, but since Aelita has been exiled already..." Tamiya explained. Yumi groaned again, loudly and obviously annoyed.

"As if we needed a new enemy. Now we have two back-from-the-dead Elvhen women after us." Yumi held her face in her hand. She heard Milly yelp, and then saw Aelita transform into a swarm of butterflies before flying through the small window. Milly ran for the larger one near her and put her years of travel to good use scaling the walls. The vampire ran to the window to try to stop Milly, but she screeched when sunlight touched her face. "Dammit!" Yumi yelled at her friend, "Aelita! Get off the roof!"

"Why don't you try to make me!"

"How old are you?!" The Colonist screamed.

 

Out of everything she was aware of, she knew exactly where the roof ended. And she knew that Milly would follow her, and if she was lucky, a few deft moves and her sister would back off, hopefully forever. But as she looked down, memories flooded back. She was filled with longing, and with terror.

"Ma... Aelita, please. Listen to me." Milly begged. She turned. The young human girl had been too afraid to risk coming close, so she was a meter and a half away. Too close for comfort, but an acceptable distance, she supposed. Aelita held her arms and rubbed them, less for warmth than comfort. "I know what you've been through. Or, at least, I know where you've been. I... I know that our parents... my parents treated you terribly. But please, tell me what I did wrong so I never do it again. So we can start over."

"Milly..." She said. "It... it isn't that simple."

"Please!" Milly was weakening. She could have sworn a crack appeared in the world. She looked at the tear in the Veil in the distance, swirling ominously and raising the dead all over the country. Maybe it was a trick of her mind. "Please. I love you."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Sometimes... sometimes love isn't enough, Amelia."

Her younger sister seemed shocked by the words, as if she had never considered that Maya would reject her in such a way. The running and the hiding she had expected after peering through the Eluvian, but this? Milly started to cry. "No! Please! Just tell me..." It was pointless but she had to know. "Tell me what I did wrong."

"There was nothing you could have done." She said, her voice low and whispy. She closed her eyes. "Because nothing that happened was your fault. But I see you and I can't help but think of my misery... And I want to forget it. Creator, do I want to forget." She sank slowly to her knees. "I don't know how to feel when I see you. Sad, happy, angry? Maybe this is... regret that I feel?"

"Regret?" Milly asked.

"Lowell and Eleanor focused their abuses on me... I had no way of knowing that it wouldn't shift to you. I worried you would be in my place, battered, beaten and broken. That night... I considered turning around, going home and saving you from them too. But I left without you." She, too, now cried. "I'm such a coward! I can't do anything but run! Where would we be if I had taken you with me? Why didn't I go back?!"

And for a long time, Aelita cried. It was like everything about her life flooded to the surface, and something prompted Milly to look beyond the physical world. Connecting to Aelita were thick chains that went up and disappeared into the sky. All except for one, which connected to Milly's heart.

When the Mari'linen touched the chain connected to her, nothing changed. She mentally touched another chain, however, and it pushed against her. She physically stumbled back, falling down onto her back. She struggled to sit up. When she looked again, a demon hovered before Aelita, beckoning her closer. The Outcast took a step closer. "No!" Milly shouted, grabbing the chain connected to her and pulling as hard as she could. It affected the physical world; Aelita was yanked backwards and the chain shattered.

Milly crawled over to her, and she hugged her. She was still crying, but she was slowly starting to calm down. "Let's say you and I go back to the party?" She said, making her voice as gentle as she could. She nodded, and the two sisters started to climb back down. Milly looked at where the demon had hovered. It was gone.

\---

Ulrich seemed shocked when Aelita and Milly returned together. Aelita was still a little shaken but obviously in a better place. Jeremie finally released the two overly violent teens in his hands, and Emily fixed her outfit before smiling at Aelita. "Why is she smiling at us? Didn't she want to kill us?" Tamiya whispered.

"Kill you?" Aelita exclaimed. "No, that isn't her style."

Jeremie hugged the Outcast, and she buried her head into his neck. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"A little shaken. I'll be fine." She said. She thought back to what Tamiya said, and by the look on Jeremie's face, he'd heard her worries. "Where's Laura?" She asked, removing Samahlin from her neck. Jeremie pointed her out, and Aelita walked up to her.

"How is it that every party we have or attend turns into a total disaster?" Laura joked. Aelita smirked, which seemed to be enough for the Fair. She asked for Laura to hold out her hand and the Fair nearly dropped it when she saw what it was. "Minerva's mercy! Don't give this to me!"

"Edna is coming after me to get it. That won't end well. I don't know why she wants it but she can't get her hands on it." Aelita said firmly. Laura hesitated, but nodded.

"Well, we should get back to the party. Let's hope these pirates aren't too weirded out to dance, hmm?" The Empress smirked.

"Apologize to Jeremie for me, will you? I want to sing something for Milly." She twiddled her fingers as she said, "It was her favorite song when she was little."

"It isn't the one about farm animals, is it?" Hatred and annoyance seemed obvious from her tone.

"What? No." Aelita rolled her eyes and, somewhat awkwardly, walked over to where the band was playing. She spoke to them quietly, and they began to play as quietly as they could as to not overpower her voice.

She seemed nervous. It had been her first time performing in front others in years. She closed her eyes, focusing on why she was doing it. She opened her mouth and started to sing.

"I hear your voice on the wind.  
And I hear you call out my name.  
Listen my child you say to me.  
I am the voice of your history.  
Be not afraid, come follow me.  
Answer my call and I'll set you  
Free!"

Normally, William would have offered to dance with Laura, as it was their inside joke that they share all of their first dances with each other. But he was, quite literally, sitting on Odd to make sure he didn't accidentally attack Milly. Jeremie had found a chair to sit in almost as soon as Laura told him Aelita wanted to sing before they danced. He was clearly pleased with that development. Emily nudged Christophe forward before Ulrich asked her out onto the dance floor.

Christophe nervously asked Laura for the first dance, to which she obliged. Hiroki, having spotted Milly, considered asking her to dance, as did Tamiya, but Milly ignored both of them when she realized it was her favorite song. Yumi rubbed her little brother's head. "Next time, champ."

"I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain.  
I am the voice of your hunger and pain.  
I am the voice that always is calling you.  
I am the voice, I will remain!”

Jeremie was enjoying the song. It was so easy to forget how much Aelita loved music, and yet, suddenly, Vigilance grew more active, and he listened closer.

"I am voice in the fields when the summer's gone.  
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow.  
Never do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long.  
I am the force that in springtime will grow!"

There was a musical break, and Jeremie wondered why Vigilance wanted him to hear those lyrics. They seemed exactly like the kind of poetry one typically found in old elven songs, but this wasn't one. It was a song Maya sang to Milly when they were children; had Aelita created it, or was it prophecy?

"I am the voice of the past that will always be  
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields  
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace.  
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal!  
"I am the voice of the wind and the pouring rain.  
I am the voice of your hunger and pain.  
I am the voice that always is calling you.  
I am the voice!  
"I am the voice of the past that will always be.  
I am the voice of your hunger and pain.  
I am the voice of the future.  
I am the voice!"

The music took over for a while, getting louder until it eventually stopped rather dramatically. Aelita moved out of the way so the band could resume, and Milly hugged her. "I missed you." The Mari'linen whispered.

"I missed you, too."

\---

19th of Eluviesta

Odd pushed open the door to the magistrate outpost. He looked around. It was dirty, but plain-clothes magistrates were working on cleaning it. There was a black haired man sitting behind a marble desk. He was reading a book, though he seemed almost disinterested in its contents. "Uh... can I ask you a question?"

"Dunno. Can you?" He asked. He looked up from his book, but only slightly.

"Has Patrick Belpois arrived yet?" The Scout asked, rubbing his arm.

"Dunno. You'd have to ask the person in charge of registration."

"Where can I find the person in charge of registration?"

"Dunno."

Odd groaned loudly. "Is there anything you do know?" He complained as the door opened behind him.

The man half-heartedly motioned to a woman with blonde hair who had opened the door. "I know that's her." Odd looked at the woman, who was about his age, and she waved for him to follow her.

"Sorry about Jean. He's new and not quite so helpful. Knows the battles but not the wars, you know?" She laughed, opened a door and then propped it so it would stay that way. She and Odd both sat in large, comfortable chairs. "Now, what brings you to me?"

"I just wanted to know if Patrick Belpois has arrived. I wanted his help."

"Let me check my books." The woman pulled out a large book bound in leather and turned to a page marked by a velvet ribbon. "No, not yet. Sorry." She closed it and smiled. "Why did you need his help specifically?"

"Well, he's helped me out before with things that are too... delicate for most people." Odd said.

"No need to be coy." She said, standing. She closed the door and then sat back down. "Maybe I can help you."

"I'd prefer to wait for Patrick..." Odd started. The woman frowned. She seemed honestly upset. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to speak a little. Just so you could relay a proper message to him when he gets here."

"No, I suppose not." She pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment with many, tiny notes on it, but room for many more. This was likely as close to the action as she usually got, he assumed. "What do you want me to tell him?"

"Just that... I need his help with a personal matter that grows more urgent. Aelita's sister is apparently back? I haven't met her, actually--don't write that part down!" She didn't. "Then just tell him it's from Odd, and to meet me by... I don't know. The tree on the corner of Charger's Passage and Barrow Close."

"...Barrow Close and... done!"

He stood with a smile. "Thanks for doing this..." He paused.

She stuck out her hand for him to shake it. "Eva."

**Author's Note:**

> Human gods: Roman  
> Elven and dwarven language: Dragon Age  
> Months: Dragon Age, Matrinalis and Ferventis switched  
> Dragon language: Skyrim  
> Beta Reader: Lost Lantean on FanFiction ( https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2106140/Lost-Lantean ) Starting Summer 9


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